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Letter: Better pay means better substitute teachers

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Teacher Brook Taylor gives her new students their first writing assignment for ACT Prep class Monday August 22 at Granger High School. There is not an empty seat in her modular classroom. She has over 40 students. Utah's teacher shortage is forcing schools to begin the school year with packed classrooms, some with substitutes at the head of the room. But Utah's school board hopes that will change under a new rule that allows schools to hire teachers without experience.

Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune Teacher Brook Taylor gives her new students their first writing assignment for ACT Prep class Monday August 22 at Granger High School. There is not an empty seat in her modular classroom. She has over 40 students. Utah's teacher shortage is forcing schools to begin the school year with packed classrooms, some with substitutes at the head of the room. But Utah's school board hopes that will change under a new rule that allows schools to hire teachers without experience.

Every school from the south to the north is failing bigly in providing qualified substitute teachers on a daily basis. The fixes are simple.

This substitute teacher job market demands that a raise in daily pay should go up 25 to 40 percent, depending on the district. You managers know who you are. Do hiring in-house. Get rid of the private companies (Washington County?) that use private companies to hire subs for the districts.

The private company personnel (1) simply are not prepared to identify truly qualified personnel, and (2) are generally interested in profit and bonuses, in my opinion, not the students of the districts. Some pay as low as $65 for a certified teacher to put in a full day. Really?

Better pay means better substitute teachers, which is what our students deserve.

Jacob L. Starkey, Salt Lake City

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By Jacob L. Starkey | The Public Forum