Pay increases help area schools rebound from labor shortage, but hundreds of substitutes still needed

The Harrisburg School District canceled school one day last year because there weren’t enough substitutes to replace teachers out sick because of a wave of COVID.

Granted, it was a Friday and there was a small snowstorm moving in anyway, so Superintendent Tim Graf called the day off as a snow day.

“We call it a ‘Snovid’ day, because it was a combination of not enough subs and the weather forecast,” Graf said.

Thankfully, Graf doesn’t expect to be in such dire straits this school year. Harrisburg, along with other Sioux Falls-area schools, have seen some relief in hiring pools for substitute teachers, teachers, bus drivers and classified positions such as education assistants, lunch providers and custodians.

That shift is because of aggressive hiring measures and pay increases, school officials said, though all districts are still filling roles before the school year begins.

Bus drivers especially made headlines with a drastic shortage last year across the nation and in Sioux Falls. School Bus Inc. in Sioux Falls rectified that by substantially and continually increasing pay, said Matt Dendy, senior transportation manager.

The hourly base pay has jumped $2.50 in the past three years to remain competitive in the Sioux Falls job market, Dendy said, with new employees starting at $22 an hour. The business also hands out $4,000 hiring bonuses for experienced commercial drivers, $2,500 for inexperienced hires and benefits starting at part time.

“Pushing that wage must have been the trigger,” said Dendy, who has a full fleet of bus drivers for the school year.

Bus drivers aren’t the only teaching-adjacent job to see pay increases to attract more candidates. The Sioux Falls School District gave 8 percent raises last year for classified staff and gave a 5.25 percent raise in July to remain competitive, said Becky Dorman, senior director of human resources.

“We could tell right away it made a difference in our applicant pool,” Dorman said.

You might have noticed the school district’s latest hiring campaign for substitute teachers – even getting a flyer in the mail yourself. The schools are looking to hire an additional 250 substitute teachers before November, which is peak cold and flu season.

The substitute teaching rate is $160 a day at most schools, $175 for specific schools and $190 a day for long-term roles.

Less than a week after sending out the flyers, the district is seeing an increase in applications coming through.

“Finding enough substitute teachers has been a challenge for many, many years,” Dorman said. “Whenever the unemployment rate is low in the area, it’s really hard to get people to sub. We’ve had to switch up what we’re looking for and who we’re targeting to substitute.”

Dorman said the district is looking to recruit professionals who want to “give back to a school” a couple of days a month. It helps expand the pool of potential subs, even if they’re not able to work regularly. It also explains the high number of applicants the district is still looking to hire.

“When you have people who only work twice a month, you need more of them,” Dorman said. “That’s why we shoot for such high numbers. Overall, we have 800 substitutes, but some of them only work occasionally.”

As for teachers, the school district has 14 teacher vacancies left across all schools, and they’ve hired 220 teachers total this year. Nearly 140 teachers have left the district for various reasons; 25 teachers left the profession to become family caretakers, but 19 former teachers returned to the district, Dorman said.

“We’re seeing the Midwest version of the national trend of increased teacher resignations,” Dorman said. “The only difference or plus for Sioux Falls is that we’re also seeing increased teacher applications.”

Nearly 850 people applied for teaching positions in the district — nearly 200 more than in 2021, which was the lowest applicant pool in recent memory. Sioux Falls is offering bonuses to teachers to keep them within the district, Dorman added, citing a $6,000 bonus to special education teachers over a three-year period as an example.

“It’s very important we retain our best teachers,” she said. “All districts are looking for ways to keep their teachers.”

The Sioux Falls School District also is still looking to fill 30 education assistant vacancies, 20 custodian vacancies and 38 athletic and activity vacancies.

Outside of the Sioux Falls School District, superintendents in Brandon, Tea and Harrisburg are finding better success at hiring this year than last. That’s mostly because of increasing pay.

Harrisburg’s Graf said substitutes are always welcome to join the rotation, and he could use a few more bus drivers. The school district increased its daily substitute rate to $155 a day.

“It’s like fishing in a dry pond for many districts right now,” Graf said. “Fortunately, here in the metro area, we can still attract more candidates than many other districts do. But it’s become a challenge to find enough teachers and staff in the state.”

Brandon Valley schools are still hiring classified positions, and bus drivers are especially needed, Superintendent Jarod Larson said. Substitute  pay is $150 a day and $200 a day for long-term positions.

Along the same trend, Tea schools have increased pay for classified positions over the past three years to $16.50 to start.

“When you work for a school district, you definitely are making an impact no matter what position you hold, and you’re making the lives of children better,” Superintendent Jennifer Lowrey said. “When you come home and know you made someone’s day, it’s not just a teacher who does that. It’s every person in the system.”