Instructional assistants working as substitutes get pay raise

Facing a shortage of substitute teachers due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) plans to use instructional assistants (IAs) to fill any empty substitute slots and has received approval from the Warren County School Board to increase their pay rate when doing so.

The School Board during its Wednesday, October 6 regular meeting voted unanimously to approve the rates of $10 per hour and $50 per day for IAs who provide instructional coverage for classroom teachers when no substitute is available. Board Vice Chairwoman and Acting Chair Catherine Bower and board members James Wells, Ralph Rinaldi, and Melanie Salins voted aye. Board member Kristen Pence was absent.

“Securing substitutes for our classrooms continues to be a challenge. In all settings, we have observed staff members serving sacrificially to meet the needs of our students and staff members,” WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger told board members, explaining that the situation “has caused a hardship on some of our staff members who are asked to serve in an instructional setting due to no teacher or substitute teacher being available.”

“Getting subs and classroom coverage has been difficult at times,” said the superintendent. “We would like to compensate those who are stepping outside of their role to take on additional duties to help with coverage.”

The increased rates used for this coverage compensation will come from the existing WCPS substitute teacher budget, according to division information, which noted that providing in-house coverage will reduce the cost for coverage when it occurs due to the elimination of fees associated with securing a substitute through the division’s partnership agreement with ESS, which operates the online absence management system.

Ballenger said that WCPS will attempt to secure a substitute first through its established process with ESS, but when ESS cannot provide coverage, administrators will work to provide coverage with employees who volunteer to take on this responsibility.

At the same time, WCPS has designed a compensation structure for staff members who voluntarily give up their planning time to provide classroom coverage due to a staff shortage or teacher absence. The compensation structure is tiered to include both exempt and nonexempt employees. The rate of compensation for a teacher to cover another teacher’s class will be $20 per hour. The rate of compensation for an IA to cover a teacher’s class will be $10 per hour.

The difference in rates for a teacher and an IA takes into account that teachers are giving up a planning period to cover a block or a class period; IAs do not have a planning period to give up, but they are taking on a higher level of responsibility when providing the service, according to WCPS information.

The compensation paid will be in addition to an employee’s regular salary and a time sheet will be used to pay employees who provide this coverage, the information says.

More action

In other action, the School Board also voted unanimously to allow the WCPS Technology Department to purchase personal computers (PCs) and a server from Dell Technologies for $186,830.

Specifically, the purchase will include the replacement of all PCs at Warren County High School and Skyline High School, as well as the replacement of a virtual server that supports the Warren County Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. The funding will come out of the Virginia Public School Authority Technology Grant, according to WCPS Technology Director Timothy Grant.

The board also unanimously approved another purchase by WCPS of an Edgenuity online curriculum for grades 6 through 12 costing $66,806.03. The price includes a high school quote, middle school quote, a professional development quote, and a free pilot for elementary school intervention and enrichment, according to WCPS Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Alan Fox.

“With the ongoing pandemic, parents continue to ask for a virtual learning experience and Edgenuity is a leading provider of online curriculum and blended learning solutions,” Fox told School Board members prior to their vote. “They specialize in online courses and instructional services.”

The middle school purchase is for 21 months, while the high school purchase is for 18 months. The elementary pilot is good through the end of the year, Fox said, noting that the cost of the online curriculum will be covered by a federal pandemic relief grant.

Lastly, the Warren County School Board voted unanimously to move forward on a proposed amphitheater project on land owned by the division pending information being provided to Sands Anderson, which is the attorney for both Warren County and the School Board.

According to WCPS Assistant Superintendent for Administration George “Buck” Smith, the School Board on January 8, 2008, entered into an agreement with Warren County to lease to it a 3.702 acre portion of School Board property on Criser Road adjacent to Ressie Jeffries Elementary School.

The County then leased the property to the Samuels Public Library Board so that a new library could be constructed on the site. The lease agreements require the library to obtain approval from Warren County and the School Board for any renovations or improvements to the property, Smith explained.

At the School Board’s September 15 work session, members of the Samuels Public Library provided a proposed amphitheater project presentation on the 3.072-acre property and sought the next steps for permission for such a project. Smith said that WCPS staff then reached out to legal counsel to seek guidance.

Now that legal counsel has reviewed both leases, Smith said, it recommended that:

• Sands Anderson will need a confirmation in writing from both the School Board and County that neither object to Sands Anderson’s taking on this project since both are clients, who would constitute a technical conflict of interest.
• A written confirmation that the proposed improvements will be on real estate that is already within the bounds of what is described in the two leases.
• A written confirmation, by consensus with the School Board, the County of Warren, and Samuels Library Board of Trustees that all parties agree to move forward with the project, and
• Legal counsel drafts an additional document that grants a three-party agreement between the School Board, County, and Library Board to consent to the building of the amphitheater, its location on the lease property, and its design.

Specifically, the School Board unanimously voted to authorize the superintendent to provide all the written confirmations that were recommended.

Watch the Warren County School Board’s meeting in its entirety — including the community participation portion of the meeting. The board’s next regular meeting/work session is scheduled for Wednesday, October 20.