The Great Falls Public Schools board voted unanimously during their Sept. 9 meeting to increase compensation and maintain incentives for substitute teachers.

The previous compensation for substitute teachers was $100 per day for those who don’t hold a current Montana teacher license and $110 for those with a state license.

After 40 days of work, non certified substitutes received $110 per day and licensed substitutes received $120 per day until the end of the school year.

GFPS board approves substitute incentive, labor agreements [2023]

Substitute teachers work seven hours daily and can’t work more than 130 hours per month, other than full-time substitutes and long-term substitute teachers, according to Luke Diekhans, GFPS human resources director.

The district provides training to substitute teachers throughout the year on a variety of topics.

Fill rates continue to be about 80 percent, Diekhans said, and the other 20 percent were filled in building by other staff due to a lack of substitute teachers.

He said they anticipate similar numbers for the 2024-2025 school year and recommended an increased daily rate for substitute teachers.

GFPS approves substitute incentive pay; labor agreements [2022]

The approved increase is $105 for unlicensed substitutes for the first 40 days and $115 for licensed teachers for the first forty days.

After the first forty days, the rate increased to $115 for unlicensed substitutes and $125 for licensed substitutes.

The increase is retroactive to the first day of school on Aug. 28.

The increase for substitute teacher pay is an estimated $39,170 for the school year, Diekhans said, based on a three-year average for all teaching positions that were filled with a substitute teacher.

The school board also voted to continue incentive pay for substitute teachers.

GFPS approves substitute pay; plan for facilty improvements using COVID-relief funds [2021]

The district started offering substitute incentives in 2021 and voted to continue that during their Sept. 9 meeting as teacher absences have increased, Diekhans said.

“With the current nature of the employment market, we do not anticipate this problem diminishing during the 2024-2025 school year,” according to Diekhans’ report to the board.

Last year, the board approved incentive pay for substitute teachers who worked at least 25 days in a selected two-month time frame, which was paid to 78 substitute teachers during the last school year. Those substitute teachers accounted for a minimum of 1,950 absences, Diekhans said.

The board approved an incentive of $400 for substitutes who work a minimum of 25 days during the time periods listed below:

• Sept. 3-Oct. 31
• Nov. 1-Dec. 31
• Jan. 1-Feb. 28
• March 1-April 30

For substitutes who work a minimum of 18 days from May 1 through June 6, the board also approved a $400 incentive.

Based on the amount spent during lsat school year and the three-year average of substitutes who earned the incentive, Diekhans told the board that he estimates this year’s cost for the incentive will be $33,000 and will be paid out of the district’s substitute teacher funds.