NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Metro schools plan to hire a recruiter to deal with a shortage of substitute teachers.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates first revealed the district has struggled to fill absent teacher positions this year.
We discovered hundreds of classrooms in October had no teacher or substitute which forced other teachers, even principals to basically babysit the students.
Metro blamed a glitch in a new phone system and claimed the system was fixed earlier this month.
So NewsChannel 5 Investigates looked at the November numbers.
We discovered some improvement, but still hundreds of classrooms had no teacher or substitute.
Teachers blame an ongoing shortage of substitutes.
Diane Jarrell spent her whole life as a teacher. She started teaching in 1974 and retired last year. She considered working as a sub, but then said she looked at the pay.
"You're talking like $10 an hour or less, and I'm like I don't think so, not to go through the hassle you have to go through as a sub," Jarrell said.
Metro pays substitutes $73.20 to $83.80 a day based on their qualifications. Substitutes must also pay for a training course and a background check.
Compare that to Metro poll workers.
They earn $120 a day.
Poll workers also get paid to attend training.
"That's a better deal than a substitute," Jarrell said. "You need to make it a worthy job, and right now it's not worthy as far as finances."
Metro's chief human capital officer told NewsChannel 5 Investigates in October that the district is working to address the problem.
"It has been extremely frustrating because our point is we want a teacher in front of students every single day," said Susan Thompson.
Thompson admitted the district had record setting numbers of classrooms with no teacher and no substitute in October.
For example on October 27, 790 Metro teachers were absent and 286 of those classrooms had no substitute.
Thompson blamed much of the problem on a new phone system.
But in November, even after Metro corrected the phone system, we found days in which over 100 classrooms had no teacher or sub.
On Thursday November 6, 583 teachers were out and 106 classrooms had no substitute.
Then, on Friday November 7, 180 classrooms had no substitute.
And on Monday, November 10, 117 classrooms had no substitute.
"It has become so common place it's like why are we putting up with this? Why is this still a problem," asked Stephen Henry, president of the Metro Nashville Education Association.
Henry said Metro needs more substitutes who are willing to go to more schools.
Some schools have a harder time finding subs.
"Perhaps incentive pay for schools where we know it's difficult getting subs in those schools," Henry said.
But Diane Jarrell said she's not going to any school right now.
If pay equals respect, she said, the position is not respected.
"They are just warm bodies to the school board. They'll deny everything about it, but you get what you pay for," Jarrell said.
Metro said it pays substitutes more than surrounding counties.
District officials said they are looking for ways to make it easier to become a substitute with fewer barriers for those who apply.
