NORTHFIELD — Pioneer Valley Regional School District administrators have reversed their decision to stop using substitute teachers through the end of the school year, yet maintain that spending on substitutes must be reduced if the district is to stay within its budget.
On May 3, Superintendent Ruth Miller sent an email to all district employees, announcing that all spending except for payroll would be frozen, due to “significant budget concerns.” This included substitute teachers, Miller’s email said.
“We spend about $4,000 on subs (per week),” Miller said on Thursday. “That’s a lot of money. We were just trying to back it off a little bit, be a little more conservative.”
According to an expenditure report provided at an April 26 School Committee meeting, the district’s budget for the year is $14,067,538, and the balance as of that meeting was $490,643.98.
Principals and teachers were encouraged to seek creative alternatives to using substitute teachers. At Pioneer Valley Regional School, teachers were asked to fill in for absent colleagues during their free periods.
Ariel LaReau, president of the teachers’ union, the Pioneer Valley Regional Education Association, said these alternatives had prompted concerns among teachers about how effectively students’ needs could be met in such conditions. Teachers were also concerned that the situation could lead to contract violations, with teachers supervising more students than they normally do and being asked to work more hours than usual.
But this policy was scaled back after a meeting of district administrators on Wednesday night, Miller said Thursday. The district now will use substitutes, but on a more limited basis than it had been.
“When we have some staff that have availability to fill that role, we think it’s fiscally prudent that we do so in those cases,” Miller said, referring to the high school’s new policy of using available teachers instead of substitutes whenever possible. “We’re trying to find that balance to conserve and be as careful as we can.”
At the high school, seniors graduate almost three weeks before classes end for the rest of the school year. LaReau said she expects teachers of senior classes will be asked to serve as substitutes during June.
At the elementary schools, where the only alternative is to pool classes, substitutes will likely be called in more frequently, Miller said.
“Combining classes was very problematic for (the elementary schools),” Miller said. “That’s why we backed a little off that, to make sure that the students were getting their needs met. … Each of the elementary schools are very different. So there’s different options. There’s not a one-size-fits-all for the elementary schools.”
Miller said the district will likely still be able to meet its budget under this new plan of reducing, rather than eliminating, its use of substitute teachers.
“Maybe there’s been some miracle,” LaReau said. “Maybe Ruth (Miller) is planning some great thing. Perhaps we are all saved.”
Contact Max Marcus at 413-772-0261 ext. 261, or mmarcus@recorder.com.