LETTER: Clark County substitute teachers face many challenges

As a former teacher and current substitute in the Clark County School District, I wanted to weigh in on the article in the Feb. 14 edition of the Review-Journal about the missed pay for substitutes and staff.

I have been subbing in the district since I retired in 2011. In all those nine years, I have not seen an increase in pay. There is something else of equal concern to me. Most teachers have five periods they teach. They then get a sixth period in which they can prepare lessons, grade papers, etc. Some teachers are asked to give up their prep period and teach all six periods. In this case, they are paid extra for having to teach an extra period.

On any given day there might be a shortage of substitute teachers. In that case, a substitute may be required to fill in for another class during their normal prep period, with no extra compensation. If there are not enough substitutes available, a regular teacher will be asked to cover a class during her prep period. But they will be compensated based on their hourly wage.

In a perfect world, there should be a substitute assigned for every teacher who is absent. In a perfect world, the district would be paying for each substitute, and there would be a substitute in each class. I do not understand why they are not willing to compensate us for that extra period. I would be more than willing to teach all six periods if I were adequately compensated.

People do not realize how difficult it can be for a sub. Until each period comes and goes, we do not know if we are getting a bunch of angels or a class from hell. Some students can smell a sub a mile away and try to take advantage of them. Sometimes we arrive and no lesson plans are laid out or the audio-visual equipment does not work or any number of other possible malfunctions.

I don’t think we are asking too much to be treated fairly. The only reason that the district can get away with this is that we don’t have a union to back us up.