Great Falls Public Schools is again proposing additional pay for substitute teachers in an effort to recruit more and the encourage them to work more consistently, in part due to COVID.

For the first six days back to school since the holiday break, the average daily substitute county is 41 for a fill rate of 65 percent, according to GFPS data.

“Due to the increased teacher and substitute illness from COVID-19, it is necessary to compensate our substitute teachers beyond their normal rate in order to ensure adequate staffing,” according to the GFPS staff report.

The school board unanimously approved the additional funding.

The GFPS human resources department proposed to use some of the one-time ESSER, or federal COVID relief funds, for additional compensation for substitutes who work more consistently through the remainder of the school year.

Staff proposed that substitutes who work a minimum of 25 days from Feb. 1 through March 31 receive an additional $400 and for those who work a minimum of 25 hours from April 1 through May 31, an additional $400.

The school board approved a similar measure for November and December 2021, paying an additional $400 to substitutes who worked a minimum of 25 days, four of which had to be Fridays. The district spent $8,800 for the 22 substitutes who met those requirements, according the district’s human resources department.

For the fall, the district’s average daily substitute count and average fill rate was:

• September: 32, 66 percent
• October: 37, 75 percent
• November: 42, 88 percent
• December: 44, 90 percent

Kerry Dattilo, the GFPS human resources director, said that the offer in the fall paid off as they had more substitutes.

She said having seven more people “might not seem like a lot, but it sure is when you’re talking about seven classrooms.”

Dattilo said that there were fewer substitutes working in January without the additional compensation.

She said they decided to split the time since it’s nice for substitutes to get a chunk of money after two months rather than having to wait until the end of the school year.

According to the staff report, the district anticipates spending up to $20,000 for the additional substitute pay for the remainder of the school year.