What’s behind a decline in the number of Tacoma’s substitute teaching jobs?

While state legislators and educators debate how to help school districts overcome a reported shortage of substitute teachers, some Tacoma substitutes are wondering what’s behind a recent slump in job opportunities here.

While some suspect technology — particularly a handful of commercial phone apps — is altering the way jobs are being offered to potential substitute teachers, Tacoma Public Schools officials say they don’t believe that’s the case.

Instead, they point to a drop in teacher absences this year that is reducing the need to hire substitutes.

Lisa Nolan, Tacoma’s assistant superintendent for human resources, said the district has seen an overall increase in staff attendance this year.

“The need for substitutes is down,” she said.

Month-to-month comparisons between last school year and the current year illustrate the trend. In September, for example, there were 425 fewer absences this year compared to last year. In January, there were 103 more this year over last year.

But overall, there were 798 fewer absences from September to January this year compared to last year — saving the district more than $100,000.

The reason for the reduction?

“We’re not sure,” Nolan said. “But we are thankful.”

She said her office hasn’t looked into the reasons behind the reduction.

However, Tacoma Education Association President Angel Morton said she is hearing from union members that they are being discouraged from using their leave.

She said teachers report that absence rates are discussed at some school staff meetings on a regular basis. And union representatives are being asked to sit in on an increasing number of meetings between principals and TEA members who are asked to explain their absences.

“The message is: We really need you here,” Morton said.

Under provisions of their contract, Tacoma teachers are granted up to 12 sick leave days and 2 personal leave days per year.

Teacher absences due to training sessions — which had increased in recent years with the addition of Common Core standards, a new teacher evaluation system and other initiatives — have also eased up, according to Morton.

It all adds up to fewer substitute openings.

Nolan also said the district is filling a higher percentage of substitute openings this year, compared to last year. During the first five months of the 2014-15 school year, the district filled an average of 80 percent of its openings. During the same period this year, the average was 95 percent.

When the district is unable to fill open positions with substitutes, other staff members are asked to fill in and that can strain school resources.

Pay is another factor in attracting substitutes. Substitute teachers in Tacoma earn a basic daily rate of $140. That’s slightly higher than some neighboring districts, where daily pay is $125.

Some hard-to-fill Tacoma assignments, including special education classes, pay more. Substitute teachers assigned to schools with extended school days also earn a premium, as do teachers who work as long-term substitutes. Tacoma teacher retirees who work longer assignments can also earn more than the basic daily rate.

Tacoma — which has about 2,000 certificated teachers, most of whom have classrooms — employs between 175 to 275 substitutes every day, Nolan said.

But some long-time substitutes say they’re not getting a fair shot at those jobs.

Tacoma currently uses an online system called Sub Finder, an automated absence reporting and substitute placement system. Teachers who will be absent enter their information into the system, and the entry generates a job posting. Teachers can request a particular substitute, and if they do, the job posting goes first to that person, Nolan said.

If no individual is requested, the system sends out an online job listing and automated phone calls to potential substitutes.

“Normally, my phone would be ringing off the hook,” said one substitute, who asked to remain anonymous. “All of a sudden this year, I didn’t have any calls.”

The woman, who’s been working for more than 10 years as a Tacoma substitute teacher, said she called the district office and “nobody seemed to know what was going on.”

The substitute said a friend told her the only way to get substitute jobs now was to “get these apps.” The apps — with names like Subalert, Sub Assistant and Jobulator — are among a handful of apps available commercially, for $7-$8 a month, the woman said.

“If I want to work, I have to pay the subscription,” she said.

In addition, she said, the apps mean the jobs go to those with “the quickest fingers,” not the most qualified.

Nolan discounts that theory. She said Tacoma Public Schools has recruited emergency substitutes — people with a bachelor’s degree or higher, but without teaching credentials — to help fill the gaps. She said they are vetted through a “rigorous process, including an interview.”

“Emergency substitutes are not our first go-to,” she said. “We go to certificated people first.”

Substitutes have complained that the apps are “intercepting” substitute job listings, sending them out first to those who pay a subscription fee for the apps, and bypassing the school district’s automated — and free — online and phone call system for recruiting substitutes.

Nolan said substitute teachers brought their concerns to her and prompted her office to investigate. While Tacoma has used Sub Finder for many years, plans are underway to move to a new substitute system, called Aesop. But it, too, has apps that work in conjunction with it.

Nolan’s office contacted Frontline Technologies, a company connected to both Sub Finder and Aesop.

“We investigated to find out how it worked,” Nolan said.

A district systems analyst downloaded an app and tested it against the traditional system.

She said job notifications — whether picked up through the app or through the district’s Sub Finder system — were posted simultaneously.

“It doesn’t get to one faster than the other,” she said.

The substitute teacher said her experience differed. She signed up for a free trial of some of the apps, and received job notices through the apps that weren’t visible through Sub Finder.

Nolan said she is concerned if substitutes feel they are not getting an equal shot at job postings. But she added that the district isn’t able to control the business arrangements between app developers and software companies.

This story was originally published February 20, 2016 at 6:48 AM with the headline "What’s behind a decline in the number of Tacoma’s substitute teaching jobs?."