School Board ups WCPS substitute pay rates; discusses switch to virtual learning

The Warren County School Board during its Wednesday, September 15 meeting and work session approved efforts by Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) to hire more substitute teachers and instructional assistants and received an update on how the school division will handle an “inevitable” switch to remote learning during an emergency.

“We have a shortage of substitute teachers this year,” WCPS Personnel Director Shane Goodwin told School Board members. “We ask you to help us by increasing the substitutes’ pay.”

“It’s been difficult this year to be completely honest,” WCPS Personnel Director Shane Goodwin told the board members, adding that existing staff have been shifting their responsibilities to cover classes. “We need more people in our buildings.”

Not only has WCPS pay for substitutes not been competitive with other surrounding school divisions, but Warren County also has experienced reduced numbers of both available teachers and substitutes due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Goodwin said.

“It’s been difficult this year to be completely honest,” Goodwin told the board members, adding that existing staff have been shifting their responsibilities to cover classes. “We need more people in our buildings.”

WCPS Central Office staff said that on average, WCPS usually needs roughly 60 substitute teachers on Mondays and Fridays, while about 40 are needed during weekdays.

“With the increased rate, our hope is that we can attract more substitutes to come in and fill these positions,” added WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger. “All schools have been experiencing a shortage in staffing. This is a tough market that we’re in.”

The money is already budgeted but WCPS needs to increase the rate, explained Goodwin, who requested that a full-day substitute teacher earn $100 per day; a half-day substitute teacher be paid $50 each day, an increase from $35.63 each day; and a long-term substitute teacher receive $100 a day. To “move the needle” and increase WCPS competitiveness even more, as Board member James Wells suggested, the request for long-term substitutes was increased to $120 per day.

With that change, the School Board voted 4-0 to approve the request to increase the WCPS pay rate for substitutes, with members Catherine Bower, Kristen Pence, Wells, and Ralph Rinaldi voting aye, and member Melanie Salins absent.

In its second action agenda item, the School Board voted 4-0 to approve a request by WCPS to hire 17 full-time instructional assistants (IAs) for school support in all five elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools through June 2023.

The money to hire the IAs will come from Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Funds (CARES) Act federal funding.

Work Session

WCPS Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Alan Fox updated School Board members on what might happen if WCPS is forced to close schools for any length of time.

For instance, if WCPS had to discontinue in-person learning due to the impacts of the ongoing pandemic, Fox said instruction would include synchronous and asynchronous learning opportunities and students could access materials and assignments through the current online learning system. Teachers would be expected to have content available in advance, he said.

“If we were forced to close down, our system would look pretty much like it did last year,” said Fox. “We have over a year’s worth of experience now, and we feel like we’d be able to pick up right away if circumstances change.”

WCPS Assistant Superintendent of Instruction Alan Fox updated School Board members on what might happen if WCPS is forced to close schools for any length of time.

Board member Wells asked if there’s a chance WCPS could do a trial run. “I know that’s a huge undertaking” to consider, Wells said, “but do we have some opportunities to make sure that if it happens, we’re prepared?”

“This will happen,” Fox said. “This is inevitable. Not necessarily because of covid, but because of our opportunities to have school snow days.”

So, a practice run, said Fox, is essentially already unfolding as WCPS ensures instruction and learning preparedness are underway, such as teachers who are already having virtual class meetings with students who are in quarantine and learning at home.

“But a practice run is certainly something that we can discuss further,” said Fox.

Ballenger added that WCPS has a state waiver allowing schools to close for 10 days maximum if needed, but he suggested retaining those days in case they are needed for an emergency.

WCPS Technology Director Timothy Grant added that students have access to their Chromebooks to take home, and the school division has extra Wi-Fi hot spots this year that students and staff may use to access the internet.

In another work session item, School Board members discussed possible revisions to the policy on public participation at School Board meetings, per a request from board Vice-Chair Bower. Among the considerations discussed were those regarding how much time each speaker gets to make public comments; the length of time allotted for the public comment period; at what point during a meeting should public comments be scheduled on the agenda; and restricting public comments to only Warren County, Va., residents, among others. The discussion will be ongoing.

To watch the School Board meeting in its entirety, watch the exclusive Royal Examiner video online here.