Ridgefield Substitute Teachers May See Pay Increase Next Year

RIDGEFIELD, Conn. — Substitute teachers would see a pay increase under the proposed 2013-14 Ridgefield Public Schools budget, but they might find themselves working less, a move that could save the school district about $163,000.

The Ridgefield Public Schools would increase the amount that substitute teachers are paid while using them less frequently.
Photo Credit: *Alissa Smith, stock*

by Alissa Smith

01/15/2013 5:00 p.m.

The figures are part of Superintendent Deborah Low's proposed budget discussed at Monday night's Board of Education meeting.

"We looked at the number of substitutes that we used and the number of days of substitute time and compared to our actuals and what we should be doing and so we are doing two things," Low said.

One of the two things was to propose an increase in the substitute daily pay from $80 to $90, something Low said was a long time coming.

The second was to propose decreasing the number of days that the district uses substitutes. "We're pulling teachers out of class too much," she said. "We’re going to try and decrease that disruption to the instructional time for the kids."

Those actions would combine for a 22 percent decrease, to $584,500, in the 2013-14 budget for substitute teachers.

The overall budget proposal of $83.9 million is up 2.61 percent from the current year, including more than $500,000 for increased security.

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