Board amends substitute pay structure

The Perry County District No. 32 School Board of Education addressed a situation that is not only district-wide, but also is an issue that is taking place around the area and state.
The district amended its substitute teacher pay structure on Nov. 10 as the search for substitutes is a severe need.
“We have a supply and demand issue, the need is high, while the number of subs is low,” Superintendent Andy Comstock said. “Teachers are having to sub a lot while on their planning periods because we are short. The thing we can’t do is send kids home because we don’t have the people.”
The board approved a measure that will pay the current retired teachers an additional $15 per day they sub and any substitute that does more than 10 days will get an extra $10 per day in that pay period.
“I would like to try this and see how it goes and evaluate it at the end of the semester,” Comstock said. Right now, the faces of my welfare and salary committee are worn out. They look defeated. I can pay them more, but this doesn’t guarantee that subs will take the opportunities.”
On top of the amended salary, the board also approved a measure that will lengthen the Thanksgiving break for the entire week of Nov. 22-26 with students returning to class on Nov. 29.
“We need to show them that we appreciate what these teachers and staff are doing for our kids,” board member Nancy Voelker said. “It’s a big burden.”
Later in the meeting, the district’s COVID-19 contact tracer Jennifer Bauwens presented data to the board. These figures are based on the time period between June-Nov. 9.
The district has had 273 positive cases, which is up 93 from the last time Bauwens presented the data in October.
Many of those positive cases come from the middle school (67) and high school (122). The month that saw the highest number of positive cases was September with 115 positives, while October saw 66 positives. Through Nov. 9, the district has had 28 cases.

While the meeting tackled a few serious issues in the middle, it started on a happy note.
The Perryville High School softball team was honored for their achievements this past fall.
The Lady Pirates reached the Class 3 final four for the first time in program history and
won the Class 3, District 1 title for the third time in the past four seasons.
Junior Alyson Stortz and sophomore Kylee Stortz were also honored for earning second team All-State honors.
“These ladies have represented themselves and the community in the best possible way,” Assistant Superintendent Jeanie White said.
The board approved the fiscal year 2023 Enhancement Grant for the Perryville Area Career Center and what Director Craig Hayden called “high demand occupations” which include computer networking, health occupations, welding, and industrial engineering technology.
In his monthly Superintendent report, Comstock updated the board about the next step in the Superintendent search, which includes setting up a date with the Missouri School Board Association representative to go over different criteria.
That meeting was set in a time frame of late November and early December.
The next school board meeting will take place Wednesday Dec. 8.