Substitute teachers facing financial hardship, loss of benefits in coronavirus shutdown
The longer schools are closed to stop the spread of coronavirus, the more Keri Anderson worries.
A substitute teacher at Tacoma Public Schools for six years, Anderson isn’t getting paid during the shutdown.
“I’m focusing on small writing and webinar gigs for supplemental income,” Anderson told The News Tribune. “I’m fortunate to have a partner with work in the medical software industry. He has plenty of work that he can do from home for now. I worry less about myself than about other subs who are the primary income earners of their families.”
Last week, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that all public and private schools statewide would close for six weeks to slow the spread of COVID-19. The virus has caused more than 60 deaths statewide, including one in Pierce County.
One of the many questions that came with the announcement was whether school employees would still be paid.
Last week, Tacoma Public Schools said that until further notice, all staff members with regular schedules won’t see an interruption in pay, including teachers, bus drivers, paraeducators, nutrition workers and other hourly and non-hourly workers.
Tacoma Education Association president Angel Morton confirmed in an email update to members Tuesday that “pay for staff will continue at our regular rate of pay” and “no one in the TEA bargaining unit will see a pay interruption.”
The only workers who won’t be paid during the closure are non-scheduled hourly workers, or substitutes and other at-will workers for the district. In 2018, TPS had 473 active substitute teachers, with as high as 600 in previous years.
Those employees have been asked by the district to “reach out the Employment Security Department as soon as possible” and can file for unemployment.
Anderson, who has underlying health concerns, said she doesn’t plan to file for unemployment.
“My personal biggest worry with this shutdown is losing my benefits,” she said.
This is the first year Anderson and other subs can qualify for benefits through the new School Employees Benefits Board (SEBB). To maintain eligibility, substitutes need to work at least 630 hours, or half time, in a year.
“I’m not going to make that minimum at this point,” Anderson said. “My asthma requires aggressive management and plenty of medication. The possibility of losing my benefits in the midst of a respiratory pandemic is terrifying.”
Melissa Dunbar, an active TPS substitute since 2014, said she feels stuck between a “rock and a hard place” in deciding whether to file for unemployment. Dunbar, who helps care for her son’s children, fears it won’t be enough to get her through the crisis.
“These are just Band-aids on a severed limb,” Dunbar said.
Last week, members of the Seattle Substitute Association (SSA) sent a letter to Seattle Public Schools (SPS) highlighting the concerns for lost benefits and other impacts.
“Substitutes are being left behind,” according to the letter. “Unlike other educators, we will not receive pay during this school closure. Schools are allowing substitutes to use sick leave and subs may file for unemployment, but these are not sufficient for a long school closure. This will have major adverse impacts on subs.”
The letter then proposed the district consider “paying substitutes their average monthly pay from the 2019-2020 school year so far.”
One Tacoma sub asked TEA to consider drafting a similar letter, but the union is not at that point, Morton said.
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal asked districts in a letter on Tuesday to “continue payroll for all employees.”
“I also want to make clear that, while we are seeking state and federal funds to backfill the impacts of this public health emergency, there is no guarantee that additional funds will come,” Reykdal said in the letter.
When asked about possible relief for substitutes, a spokesperson from Reykdal’s office also said Wednesday: “We hope there will be relief available through substitutes, and there may already be through the Employment Security Department. Unfortunately that isn’t something we would be able to provide.”
Anderson hopes to continue her work as a sub.
“I love subbing. I choose to sub, because it’s such an unique way to support the community,” she said in an email. “I get to be there for students and teachers on days when they really need a friendly, supportive presence to lead them through their learning. I get to make my own schedule and choose my own adventure. I’d love to be able to keep subbing. I don’t know if I can sustain this career choice if school stays closed into the fall.”
