The Berkeley County School Board is expected to vote on a proposal to increase substitute teacher pay Tuesday, officials said.
If approved, the daily rate for certified substitutes would go from $80 per day to $112 per day, the same rate as the Charleston County School District. The hourly rate for certified subs would be $14 per hour, if the new plan is approved.
“It’s a grand step in the right direction. that's a significant increase there,” said Fran Welch, Dean of the School of Education, Health, and Human Performance at the College of Charleston.
Non-certified subs are currently paid $60 per day in Berkeley County. A proposal calls for an increase of their pay to $80 per day. The current rate for long term substitute teachers would remain at $150 per day under the proposal.
“Teachers are across the board underpaid, and subs are underpaid, too,” said Welch. “I think the more we can increase the salary for substitutes and for teachers, the more successful we'd be in getting teachers into classrooms.”
Berkeley County District officials told ABC News 4 they utilize about 300 substitute teachers per day, with a pool of substitute teachers via Kelly Services of 1,068.
For comparison, officials with Charleston County say they average 171 teacher and 59 teacher-assistant sub requests per day. There are currently 3,300 teachers in the Charleston County School District. Non-certified substitutes are paid a daily rate of $100 in Charleston County.
In Dorchester District Two, officials say the daily rate for certified substitute teachers is $100 and $70 for substitutes who are non-certified.
Tuesday’s school board meeting in Moncks Corner is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Click here for a look at the meeting agenda.