Norwin increases pay for substitute teachers, paraprofessionals

After failing to get enough substitute teachers and paraprofessionals, Norwin upped the pay for those positions beginning next month to be more competitive with neighboring districts.

The higher pay is important because Norwin has had a hard time attracting substitute teachers and paraprofessionals in the past 10 to 11 months, Superintendent Jeff Taylor said. Other districts in the area pay more and substitute teachers living in the district have even opted to work for other schools because of that, Taylor said.

Norwin will advertise and market its new pay scale to reach more substitute teachers and paraprofessionals.

Substituteswill be offered $120 per day, a $15 increase under the new wage scale the board approved Monday. It will be the first raise for substitutes since the 2016-2017 school year.

Emergency paraprofessionals will make $13.50 an hour, a 50 cents per hour increase. A certified paraprofessional will make $14 per hour, up 90 cents per hour. Other paraprofessional rates depend on experience.

Taylor said the new pay scale erases a requirement that substitutes work 30 consecutive days before being eligible for a raise.

Board President Brian Carlton hopes this will resolve the staffing issues.

Donald Rhodes, board vice president, cautioned that the district must address the issue of absenteeism among employees to resolve the staffing issues.

Kevin Chitester, president of the Norwin Education Association, the union representing teachers, said the problem is not teachers missing work, but the spread of coronavirus.

Chitester, a high school teacher, said staff remains in the classrooms at the elementary and Hillcrest Intermediate schools and in close contact with others. Teachers have missed work because they are in quarantine or have taken family leave because of the pandemic, he added.