Seeing another sea-change in the substitute teacher world and felt like sharing. I started seven years ago. Back then $100 was kind of a ceiling. A FEW schools were over that but most were either there or lower. Over the last seven it has become the floor. Heck I can make better than that doing the ride-share thing. A few small rural schools are below that but it is no longer really the norm. And keep in mind we’re in demand. It’s the rare public district which has ENOUGH subs. So we can pick and choose where we go. I work EVERY DAY somewhere. There are districts to which I will not return. There are teachers in good districts I will not pick up. And still I work every day.

How do I choose? Three elements: cash, culture and commute. I don’t travel more than about 20 minutes away. That trims quite a few central Ohio schools off my list. Cash is what it is. Those sub $100 schools only get me when I need a break from the urban setting. And then there’s culture. Faculty, staff, admin, building and student body. That’s a biggie and often over-rides cash. A few examples.

My FAVORITE school pays $100, is close to home and scores tops in culture. But that $100 won’t crack my nut on a daily basis. School B is quite similar but a few miles further away. School C pays 20% more but doesn’t quite have the culture consideration. School D is identical to C but a little further away. School E has a BEAUTIFUL new building, pays $150/day …. and the culture is absolutely toxic. There are actually two of these districts nearby. So school C & D got me a lot and A &B filled in.

And then COVID hit. School demand for subs has gone UP since teachers are occasionally quarantined and many have children who get sick, over and above the usual level of absence. And the supply of subs has gone down. Most of us are in the high-risk demographic and have quit the gig. So supply went down, demand went up and something’s gotta give. Four schools on my list have offered “Full Time Sub gigs.” Nice. Except. Same building every day. If they don’t need you they shift you to administrative duties or lower grades. And the pay stays the same. No. Just no. Two schools have upped the pay for these situations, appreciating that the ability to choose is one of the benefits of subbing and we’d be giving that up. School E is offering $200/day. STILL not going there. But school B? They get it. Offered $130/day with a bonus for every 45 days I keep the gig, which should push it to $150 by the end of the year. And I jumped at the chance.

The Delta variant has led Ohio to re-implement a mask mandate. Before the state acted many school districts were acting on their own. And as a district passed a mandate I informed the staff I would not be returning. And yet I worked every day. These school boards didn’t realize the issue they were causing on a daily basis at most schools. All they wanted was to be seen by their constituency as DOING something. Leaving the hapless staffs, faculty and students to take the brunt of the damage from their decision. I was prepared to go back to driving to supplement the missing schools when a) the state mandate was issued and b) this gig appeared.

Incentives motivated my daily school choice. Incentives nearly drove me from subbing. And incentives offered by School B kept me in their classrooms and helped them deal with a shortage. But apparently some high placed elected folks don’t seem to realize that incentives DO matter and that we respond to them.