While Lisbon School’s case counts are all below six in elementary, high school and teachers in the building, the district is still dealing with the persistence of COVID-19.
“Even with a low case count, that still means there are cases within each of these buildings,” said Lisbon superintendent Pat Hocking.
The board discussed an issue that has been a minor struggle this school year – finding substitute teachers.
“It depends on the day if we’re able to find substitute teachers,” said elementary principal Justin Brown. “There have been days where it can prove to be a group effort to fill classes that need a substitute teacher, with staff members working together to cover the role throughout the day.”
The district raised substitute pay last meeting, and Brown and Lisbon secondary principal Aaron Becker noted that has helped retain some of the substitutes the district relies on. The district just needs a larger pool of substitutes to rely on.
Lisbon School Board member Robyn Richey asked what the requirements are to be a substitute teacher.
Lisbon Superintendent Pat Hocking noted those policies are on the Department of Education’s website.
The district made a push like that last year when finding subs was an issue, Brown said, but there are still requirements, like having a bachelors or associates degree and number of consecutive days you can substitute for one class that make finding people to fill the role something that hasn’t happened.
Lisbon School Board member Abbe Stensland asked if having a single substitute per building, similar to what districts like Iowa City have done, would be beneficial.
For Lisbon the issue is more the number of teachers the district has had out sick at once that a single person in one building couldn’t cover.
The district continues to monitor the situation, and no action was taken following the discussion item.