Underperforming Phila. sub firm boosts teacher pay
The firm that has struggled to fill Philadelphia's substitute-teaching vacancies said Thursday that it will pay more in an effort to attract more workers.
The firm that has struggled to fill Philadelphia's substitute-teaching vacancies said Thursday that it will pay more in an effort to attract more workers.
Source4Teachers will now pay certified teachers who previously worked for the school system $160 per day, up from $110. Long-term certified subs will make $200 per day, up from $140.
For those new to the system, the rates jump to $140, $160, or $180 per day, depending on subject area taught, from $110, $125, and $140.
The Cherry Hill-based firm was awarded a two-year, $34 million contract to manage substitute services beginning in September.
It promised to have filled 75 percent of vacancies by the first day of school and 90 percent by January; it filled 24 percent of sub jobs Thursday, leaving 505 classes without teachers.
Initially, Source4Teachers officials said Philadelphia substitute pay rates had been artificially high. But many per-diem teachers who had worked in city classrooms opted not to work for Source4Teachers, citing the pay.
"It's not surprising to see a fair amount of criticism directed at the pay rates," said Owen Murphy, Source4Teachers spokesman. "We inherited a situation where the sub talent pool in some cases had become accustomed to higher rates."
Paychecks for retired Philadelphia teachers who substitute, even after Thursday's boost, remain lower than they had been when the district managed the service. Retired teachers had been paid up to $243 daily.
Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. and School Reform Commission Chair Marjorie Neff have said the company is on notice and must perform better. Hite has said his patience has run out.
Murphy said Source4Teachers was "very much invested in this partnership" and working toward goals set for it by the district.
But, he said, "I would caution anyone to think that there's any silver bullet out there. We do think that this is going to be helpful, but anything we do is going to take a little bit of time."
Source4Teachers tries to fill between 500 and 800 substitute jobs daily; it is paid only for vacancies it fills, and it makes less money when regular district teachers give up their prep periods to cover for classes with no substitute.
Murphy said the firm's work has been hampered in part by employees not yet used to the new system. Thirty percent of absences are logged after 6 a.m. the day a substitute is needed, and some are even logged after the school day's conclusion.
"We'd like to see more people actively participating in the right way to do things," Murphy said. "That's presented another obstacle for us, for sure."
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