Manatee County schools boast good supply of subs, pay less than Sarasota

BRADENTON -- Beating an optimal ratio, there is one active substitute for every four teachers in Manatee County. But those who choose to substitute teach in Sarasota County are paid more than in Manatee County.

The Manatee County School Board will get a deeper look into how the district handles substitutes teachers during a workshop on Wednesday. The request for the workshop originally came from board member Karen Carpenter, who was concerned the district might be losing valuable substitutes because of the pay difference.

"To me, we're asking people to come into our classrooms, and we should respect that," she said, adding that she brought up the issue after hearing from a few substitutes.

The district has 622 active substitutes right now, according to information posted on the district's website for the workshop. There's 2,689 teachers in the district, meaning there's one sub for every four teachers. The Substitute Teaching Institute at Utah State University puts the optimal ratio for district as one to five.

Even with a good supply of substitutes, the district lags behind Sarasota County when it comes to paying those substitutes. Here's a look at how Manatee County compares to Sarasota County, and others when applicable, when it comes to paying substitutes:

A substitute with an associate's degree makes $69 a day in Manatee County. In Sarasota, that same substitute makes $95 a day. Manatee pays those with associate's degree more than Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

A substitutes with a bachelor's degree or higher makes $89 a day for the first 20 days of an assignment in Manatee County. In Sarasota, that same sub makes $115. Again, Manatee pays those with bachelor's degrees or higher more than Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco counties in that category.

A substitute with a bachelor's degree or higher makes $100 a day for working 21 to 90 days of an assignment in Manatee County. In Sarasota, that same sub makes $132.

Board member Charlie Kennedy will bring a different perspective to the discussion Wednesday. A former teacher at Manatee High, Kennedy had to give up his post upon joining the board. He's been substitute teaching in Sarasota County schools a couple days a week this year, since he cannot be a substitute in Manatee County, because of his board position.

"The school can't run without them," Kennedy said of substitutes.

Kennedy said substitutes who frequently work in the same schools can become part of the regular faculty for students, which can be helpful, he said.

While he wasn't as worried about losing substitute teachers to Sarasota County -- a shorter commute to substitute and familiarity with Manatee schools can help keep substitutes in the district -- he did say it would be nice if the district would afford to pay the substitutes more money for the work they do.

The district hired 73 new substitute teachers so far this year, and pulled 100 substitutes from last year into full-time teaching positions for this year.

"That's a great training program," Carpenter said.

After reviewing the material posted on the website, Carpenter said she was hoping to see even more data and information on how the district handles substitutes by the time the workshop rolls around on Wednesday, including how often substitutes are called upon to work in the district and what type of leave they are covering.

As the item is part of the workshop, the board is not expected to take any immediate action on the issue.

Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter@MeghinDelaney.

This story was originally published October 23, 2015 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Manatee County schools boast good supply of subs, pay less than Sarasota ."