Per-diem substitute: According to the 2024-2025 job posting for per-diem substitute teachers, those in this role “lead instruction in assigned classrooms in the absence of regular classroom teachers [and] are responsible for helping students build knowledge and skills according to teacher-planned lessons.”
Building substitute: A substitute teacher who performs the functions of per-diem substitutes in addition to many other responsibilities. They step in for absent teachers, act as hallway monitors, and perform any number of other tasks which emerge throughout the school day.
In response to the rejection of ICSD’s proposed budget in May 2024, the district implemented significant spending cuts. One notable change was the reduction in building substitute positions, which were introduced during the pandemic. Despite the original intention to retain these roles solely during the pandemic, their reduction affected a considerable number of students and staff.
In August, building substitutes across elementary and secondary schools were laid off with only two to three weeks’ notice before the start of the school year. Despite numerous attempts by the building substitutes to appeal the board’s decision, including letters to the Board of Education and speeches at the Public Voting Meeting held on August 13, 2024, no contracts were renegotiated. The Tattler Editorial Board argues that the district failed to properly reallocate the duties of building substitutes and performed the layoffs with poor communication, notifying valuable staff members of their termination just weeks before the school year.
Building substitutes are a crucial part of the day-to-day operations across all schools in the district and their responsibilities extend far beyond the classroom. They provide coverage for recess and lunch supervision, and some have even led after-school programs, highlighting their broader impact on the school community. As substitute teacher Zelda Blaine noted during the same meeting, “Teachers and aides feel more comfortable leaving their students with subs who have knowledge of their students’ individual and increasing needs, and are familiar to their students.” Building substitutes are around the same students consistently, and can thus develop a far superior rapport than a per-diem substitute. This familiarity and consistency contribute greatly to maintaining a stable learning environment.
After the public rejection of the first budget, a second draft was approved in June. The accepted document appeared to indicate that building substitutes would be retained, paid using remaining COVID relief funds. However, after the vote, those funds were reallocated and building substitutes were laid off. Some building substitutes were hired back as “per-diem subs” and asked to effectively continue their previous duties for lower pay.
The layoffs reflect challenges in communication and transparency. Administration has argued that building substitutes were a COVID measure and not meant to be permanent. However, teachers and students alike grew to rely on them. Laying off the majority of building substitutes is a major shift from the norm over the past several years. A change of this magnitude should have some “phase-out plan” which is made public and clearly communicated so that people can prepare for the future.
IHS teacher Beverley Tan asked, “How can this board decide to eliminate building subs when, even before this decision, teachers were receiving almost daily emails about fail-to-fills?” Building substitutes may not have existed prior to COVID, but they’re certainly needed now. As Ithaca Teachers Association (ITA) Vice President Rafael Chamberlain told the Board of Education, “More and more teachers will be pulled from their valuable planning time to cover someone else’s classes.” Less planning time for classroom teachers will directly worsen students’ education, a concession which should never be made, regardless of the budget situation. While we may disagree with their initial decision, the Tattler Editorial Board recognizes that the district may be unable to completely reverse its decision to lay off all building substitutes. If that is the case, they should hire back a select few in order to ease the load from teachers.
Outside of building substitutes, regular per-diem substitutes are clearly in low supply, as evidenced by the large number of fail-to-fills. The Tattler Editorial Board urges ICSD to create various incentives by which to attract more per-diem substitute teachers to the district. If building substitutes cannot be brought back, the district must reevaluate its policies toward per-diem substitutes generally. The recent lack of fail-to-fills could be attributed to a lack of pay, poor working conditions, or any number of other possible factors. Making ICSD a more desirable place for substitutes would ease our current shortage.
The public is understandably confused by the sudden disappearance of building substitutes, and are left to wonder what happened between the vote in June and the school year which required a change of plans. The Tattler Editorial Board believes that ICSD must do a better job of clearly stating the reasons for such sweeping actions. Administration should start by including their rationale for the sudden reduction of building substitutes in their monthly newsletter, “ICSD Insider.” Second, the district should research why we have a perpetual shortage of per-diem substitutes, an even greater issue now that many building substitutes are gone. Lastly, hiring back some building substitutes for the short term could help teachers and students ease out of the system they’ve come to rely on.
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