The Ottumwa School Board met on Monday. An agenda item that saw extensive discussion was the pay rate for substitute teachers in the district as the need to add subs continues to increase. Historically, the district had used a 3-tiered system for substitute teacher pay, with compensation figures being $120 a day for terms less than 10 days; $150 a day beyond day 10 for a single assignment; and $185 a day for long-term assignments of more than 40 days. Chief financial officer John Berg gave a proposal to the board to increase the competitiveness of the district’s substitute teacher pay.

The board approved the updates as presented, removing the bottom tier of pay and lowering the benchmark for the highest tier. The updates were approved unanimously.

The full board meeting for the Ottumwa School District from August 22 can be viewed here.