The Marshalltown School District uses 19 substitute teachers on an average day and that is not enough.

Nora Ryan, director of human resources for the school district, said the last count of substitute teachers available was 90.

“This list has not been updated in several years so I would argue it’s actually a much smaller pool,” she said.

At the Oct. 7 regular school board meeting Superintendent Theron Schutte said there is usually a discussion at this time during the school year about the lack substitutes and the difficulty the district faces in covering classrooms.

“It has created an opportunity for us to take a closer look at the number of absences of our employees that we’re experiencing and the reason for those absences,” Schutte told the board. “A lot of absences, not a lot of sub availability that creates some difficult situations.”

According to Ryan, when there are too many teachers gone and not enough substitutes to fill in for them, other teachers or administrators need to step in.

Ryan said during the first week of the 2019-20 school year, there were 109 absences of certified staff.

“That’s about 21 teachers, social workers, nurses, counselors – certified staff – per day in the first week of school this year,” she said. “From the beginning of the year to present, we average about 41 absences per day in our certified staff pool, which is about 10 percent of the staff. Twenty-eight of these on average are for personal or family illness. The others are for bereavement, personal days or professional development.”

Of the average 41 absences, six are for professional development or leave for student activities.

Ryan said the school district encourages members of the staff to utilize time off when appropriate such as illness recovery, caring for sick family members or rest and rejuvenation when needed.

To attract more substitute teachers, Ryan said the district will continue to advertise the need and the benefits of working for the district on an as-needed, flexible schedule. She also said that substitute teachers earn $115 per day and longer-term substitute receive a higher rate after working 20 consecutive days working in one posting.

“We hope to show why working for the district as a substitute teacher is not only a great part-time job but also an extremely rewarding and fulfilling experience,” she said.

Not just anyone can serve as a substitute teacher, however. A person needs to at least have a bachelor’s degree and successfully complete an authorization course.

“There are conversations right now at the state level to change this requirement to an associate’s degree in lieu of the full bachelor’s,” Ryan said. “No official word of any changes yet.”