ATHOL – During a special meeting held virtually Tuesday night, the Athol Royalston Regional School Committee voted to raise the pay for substitute nurses and teachers.

“We have been experiencing various difficulties getting substitutes into the district,” said Superintendent Matt Ehrenworth, “and we have been discussing what options exist to try to get more folks to come in and stay, particularly with respect to nurses. With regard to nurses, they’re telling us it’s not even worth their time to come in.

“Nurses make a minimum of $40, $45 an hour when they go into hospitals, and then they can do overtime. So, to take a day and get paid $150 – they just kind of laugh it off, to be quite honest. We can’t get anyone.”

The superintendent then proposed a rate of $285 per day, nearly double that of the current compensation. He explained that this was the highest amount that could be offered without paying them more than a full-time district nurse at Step 1 on the pay scale negotiated with the union. A district nurse at Step 1 earns a salary of $52,560 a year. All full-time nurses in the district are required be registered nurses.

“I’m hopeful that will attract good nurses,” Ehrenworth said. “I’m not sure it will work, but I think it’s definitely worth the investment and the try because, particularly with respect to the nurses….we’re talking about maybe 12 or 13 absences [per year]. And they’re absolutely key for keeping our kids safe.”

Committee Chair Tammy Duquette asked Ehrenworth the average for substitute nurses in other districts and if they are facing similar issues.

Ehrenworth explained that Business Manager Nancy Konisky did research the matter, “and in her research – and these were not all necessarily neighboring districts – rates ranged from $185 a day to $260 a day for nurses. Quite candidly, in a conversation with the union about how dire the situation is regarding us not having nurses, (I said) I would be willing to pay the maximum, if allowed, to pay the maximum amount that we could pay nurses to come here, because that’s how important it is and that’s how dire the situation it is when we can’t get them.”

Ehrenworth said it’s likely the proposed pay for substitute nurses will be a little higher than the top pay around, but he doesn’t want to compete for the few nurses available.

“We’ve had people reach out,” Duquette added. “We’ve had multiple families whose children have missed days upon days, sometimes over a week of school because there’s no nurse in the building.”

She added some parents need to know if there will be someone available to administer their child’s medication.

Konisky told the committee the district paid substitute nurses more than $7,900 to cover 47 absences last school year. The new rate would add about $5,000 to that figure.

The committee voted unanimously to approve the new rate for substitute nurses. The motion to approve the raise, however, included a stipulation that the issue be reviewed at the end of the school year.

Substitute teacher pay

Ehrenworth said that the situation with substitute teachers is similar to that of nurses, though not quite as dire.

“We didn’t want to bump this rate up as dramatically as the nurses,” he said. “You’re now talking about a difference of where the nursing might have around 40 absences a year, whereas you’re looking at hundreds of absences that we’re covering through the year for teachers. That being said, we are one of the lower-paying districts in the area.”

Before Tuesday night’s meeting, unlicensed substitutes were paid $115 per day, while those with their teaching license received $168.75 a day. Ehrenworth said most of the substitute teachers that come to the district are not licensed.

For the adjusted rates, said Ehrenworth, “We left the $115 rate in there, because we do have kids coming from college who are in their second year – we’ve even had freshmen come in – and we get some people who have never attended college, they’re just high school graduates. So, we left $115 in there for those with no degree.”

He continued, “$135 was a rational step up for having a degree (and no license). A licensed educator to do this work is almost as hard to find as a nurse.”

For substitutes with a degree and license, Ehrenworth proposed a rate of $270 per day.

The committee also approved that proposal without dissent, and agreed to add the position of lead pre-kindergarten teacher with a stipend of $1,800 per year. Both rate increases will take effect immediately. 

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.