The decision by the Tucson Unified School District to outsource substitute teachers has ignited a firestorm as the school year begins. While the use of substitute teachers has been a contentious issue in District for years, the shortage of classroom teachers across the state has created a strong demand for substitutes.
Just last week on the James T. Harris radio show, TUSD Governing Board member, Dr. Mark Stegeman, an Economics professor at the University of Arizona, discussed the current classroom crisis. (Listen to the interview here)
Stegeman, who opposed the outsourcing decision, told Harris, “We have a shortage of substitutes, and when you have a shortage giving them a worse deal is not the market solution, right? When markets are working and you have a shortage, then you pay them more – not less, stated Stegeman.
TUSD is in turmoil as teacher turnover reached 21 percent for School Year 2014-2015. While the entire state of Arizona has a teacher shortage, TUSD accounts for over 10 percent of teaching position vacancies.
As we reported in July, last year the District budgeted for 2481 teachers, but actually only had 2000 teachers. With 2000 teachers, there were numerous long-term substitutes covering classes and teachers teaching extra classes.
Stegeman told Harris that the group managing substitutes ESI is nothing more than a “glorified temp agency.” At the same time the Governing Board voted to renew Superintendent H.T. Sanchez’s new extravagant contract, the Board voted against the wishes of Stegeman and Michael Hicks, by approving the outsourcing contract to ESI. At the time, staff failed to explain to the Board that substitutes, who are retired teachers, would take a significant pay cut under the new contract.
For long time TUSD substitute teachers the decision was a betrayal. Ironically, the ESI representative was more straightforward in describing the reduced health and retirement benefits that substitutes would receive than was TUSD’s own staff.
Although they carry the label “substitutes,” long-term assignment substitute teachers do everything expected of a teacher on TUSD’s payroll without the same benefits. Long-term assignment substitutes are required to have lessons plans, grade papers, enter those grades, maintain contact with parents, attend professional development, participate in IEP meetings, and develop lessons required by the IEPs.
At the current rate of pay, most long-term assignment substitutes will qualify for some kind of government assistance during the school year.
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