District 303 increasing pay for substitute teachers

St. Charles Unit District 303 is boosting the pay for substitute teachers.

At its Oct. 11 meeting, the board unanimously approved the increase from $120 for a full day (7 hours) to $145 per day.

It's the second straight year the district has boosted pay for substitutes to stay competitive with other school districts.

Last November, the school board voted to increase the pay for substitute teachers from $100 a day to $120 a day.

"We have been looking at the rates in surrounding districts and surrounding counties," Marci Conlin, the district's assistant superintendent for human resources, previously told school board members.

"If we look at surrounding counties, Kane County is much lower than other counties in the way they are paying substitutes. That's why I'm bringing this forward now ... I think we need to get ahead of this.

She noted that the range for substitute teachers in the Kane County area is from $105 to $150 for a full day.

"Our proposed rate is toward the top end of that but not higher than what that top rate is," Conlin said.

Substitute teachers who have reached their 31st day of work - nonconsecutive - will see an increase from $140 for a full day to $165 per day. The substitute teacher would keep the rate for two years.

No other school district in Kane County is keeping such a rate for two years, Conlin said.

"So we're really giving those substitutes that come and sub with us on a regular basis that advantage of knowing that they will have that higher rate starting at the next year as well," she said.

The rate for a retired substitute teacher will increase from $120 for a full day to $200.

In addition, the pay for support staff substitutes will increase from $110.40 for a full day to $180.