NORWICH – Are substitute teachers adequately compensated for their time and experience? According to one of Norwich’s retired teachers, the answer is no.
Jim Wysor retired from the Norwich City School District after teaching for 34 years. For the last five and a half years, he has continued to work for school district as a substitute teacher. He enjoys it, he said. All but the pay.
“Do you see the value of having the best possible subs?” Wysor asked the district’s school board at Tuesday’s meeting. “Do you see the value of paying for experience and expertise in subs?”
Wysor’s appearance at the meeting was a follow up to an e-mail he had sent to Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan and members of the school board, expressing his concerns regarding the compensation of the district’s substitutes and the policy for long-term subs.
“Substitute pay has not been increased in this district in eight years, possibly more,” said Wysor. Non-certified subs receive $60 a day in compensation, certified subs receive $65 and retired certified teachers are paid a per diem rate of $100.
“I think I am worth more than $100 a day. That’s about $12 an hour for 34 years of teaching experience,” said Wysor.
The educator also questioned the district’s policy for compensating long term substitutes. Subs are currently required to work five weeks at the per diem rate before being put on “step,” where they are paid a percentage of the prevailing salary for entry-level teachers. According to the district’s Human Resources Director Kim Perez, that rate is currently $172.50 per day.
Wysor said he believes retired teachers should be placed on step immediately when they are asked to fill in long-term.
“It just doesn’t seem to make sense,” he said. “Waiting five weeks is unfair, and I believe an insult, to these teachers.”
The retired teacher asked the school board to evaluate the current compensation structure for substitutes, whether that be done by the full board or the policy subcommittee.
“I would respectfully ask that you’d take this into consideration,” said Wysor.
Board President Bob Patterson reported that previous boards had examined this issue before, but thanked Wysor for bringing it once again to their attention.
“It’s a timely thing to bring it to us again,” said Patterson, as it comes to the board’s attention right before they begin working on next year’s budget.
The board president asked O’Sullivan to evaluate Wysor’s request and bring suggestions back to the board.
It is not just monetary remuneration that Wysor said he feels is lacking for substitutes, especially for those who have retired from teaching in the district.
“There’s nothing that this district does, which makes me as a substitute, feel valued,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s more than just money,” said board member Joe Stagliano, who asked the superintendent to investigate this avenue as well. “We have to respect the time and effort these people have put into educating our children.”