The Bethlehem Area School Board discussed at its Sept. 23 meeting the challenge of attracting enough high-quality substitute teachers. The staffing service they use is used by many school districts, so the competition is high.

“I think the people in this pool have their names on other lists,” Russell Giordano, chief human resources officer, said about Substitute Teacher Service Inc.

“They had access to a large number of teachers,” said board member Michelle Cann, “but now that seems to be our nemesis.”

“When I call them, they always have a person ready,” Giordano reassured.

The school district would like to attract the best substitute teachers from the pool, but with so many schools soliciting, top substitutes have their pick. That’s why Giordano asked the school board what they can do to make working for a Bethlehem school the first choice for a substitute teacher. The school district currently pays $90 per day for the first five days.

School Board member Eugene McKeon suggested that Giordano compare BASD pay rates with those of other area schools.

Concerned about whether BASD is getting enough substitute teachers, school board member Craig Neiman asked if it is a critical mass issue.

Superintendent Joseph Roy explained that the school district had 220 substitutes on the books last year, but when they looked closer into how many actually worked for them that year, they realized it was only about 90 teachers.

The reason for this is because the teachers listed with STS are not exclusive to Bethlehem, Giordano said.

“They owe STS a certain amount of hours to remain in the STS system,” he said. Although available to Bethlehem, those hours were at a different school district.

“If you are short a substitute, then someone else has to cover,” Roy said. “That means someone doesn’t get their break or a specialist doesn’t see their students.”

Giordano said the district joined Intermediate Unit 30, which certifies people as emergency substitutes. He said they could filter the substitute candidates so that they get ones with certain higher credentials, but there are drawbacks to doing that.

“If we keep too many filters, then the chances of not getting someone by 7:30 in the morning is more likely,” Giordano said, “so we took the filters off.”

In addition to substitute teachers, the school district had to replace several teachers later in the year than usual. Some moved late in the summer, while others took jobs in other school districts.

In addition to these changes, Giordano had 42 teachers submit grade changes or request some other type of change. He was able to fulfill half of them.

“I do try to make matches that are a win-win,” he said.

Among the new staff hired, Giordano added a speech therapist, an adaptive physical education teacher and a gifted student teacher.

“To get the right people in the right places within the limits of the budget is an enormous task,” he said.

Roy said, “We have to hire the best person available for that position at that time. They have to all pass to the same bar.”