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Pinellas' use of substitute teachers skirts class size rules

 
An Oct. 2 email from a Pinellas School District  official suggests a last-minute effort to meet the state’s class-size requirements by using substitute teachers.
An Oct. 2 email from a Pinellas School District official suggests a last-minute effort to meet the state’s class-size requirements by using substitute teachers.
Published Oct. 15, 2014

With the state's annual class-size count looming earlier this month, the Pinellas County school system put out an urgent call for substitute teachers.

An email sent to prospective substitutes made it clear that the jobs were easy to get and short term. With a classic recruiting poster of Uncle Sam — "We Want You!" — it blasted: "Pinellas County Needs You Now!!!" and "No interviews required." Co-teaching positions were available "from October 6 through October 31," wrote Seymour Brown, a district director, on Oct. 2.

The last-minute pitch was part of an apparent effort by Pinellas officials to sidestep the state's class-size law by using substitute teachers to temporarily improve student-teacher ratios at some schools.

The three-week period cited in the email comes at the same time that school districts report class-size numbers to the state. Substitute teachers were told they could leave their positions after the end of the month, if they wanted. The student count ends Friday.

One district memo said substitutes weren't expected to perform basic teaching duties, as envisioned by the class-size law.

Deputy superintendent Bill Corbett said the district has used substitute teachers to comply with the state's class-size law for several years. Despite the wording of Brown's email, he said the intention was to hire substitute teachers for long-term positions, as long as student enrollment numbers didn't drop.

Superintendent Mike Grego concurred, saying that after the three-week period the jobs would "go from month to month."

Cheryl Etters, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Education, said the state expects school districts to get into compliance this month — and to keep their numbers in line "as much as they can be the rest of the school year."

Co-teaching, two teachers teaming in one classroom, is allowed to reduce class sizes "generally speaking," she said.

The law doesn't prohibit the use of substitute teachers. But it does define co-teaching.

Each teacher in such an arrangement "is responsible for planning, delivering, and evaluating instruction for all students in the class," according to the state. In contrast, Pinellas doesn't expect substitute teachers hired for co-teaching to perform basic and essential teaching duties. Substitutes "are not responsible for any work beyond the normal school day," one district memo said, including "lesson planning, grading papers, night activities, etc."

Substitute teachers in Pinellas are paid from $9.28 an hour up to $18.57, depending on qualifications and school placement. Co-teaching substitutes who stay longer than 15 days could receive extra pay.

Other area school districts haven't relied on substitutes to meet class-size requirements.

In Hillsborough County, district spokesman Steve Hegarty said it's always a "mad dash" to get into compliance and a lot of shifting happens after the initial student counts early in the year.

But substitute teachers haven't been used as a quick fix for class-size compliance, he said.

In Pasco County, the district has relied on its existing teachers to lower class sizes, offering some more money to teach an extra class period, said Linda Cobbe, a district spokeswoman.

The district also has designated many facilities "schools of choice," which allows for a calculation based on averages rather than class-by-class numbers. The district hasn't used substitutes for class-size compliance.

Approved by voters in 2002, the constitutional amendment limits the number of students for each "core" class by grade level. State law calls for no more than 18 students per class in kindergarten through third grade, 22 in grades 4 to 8, and 25 in high school. Core classes generally exclude electives, such as physical education and the arts.

Breaking the class-size law can result in financial penalties.

State legislators, however, have made it easier than ever to comply. Financial penalties can be alleviated if a district submits a plan to get numbers down. And, as of 2011, districts can add three to five students per core class, depending on grade level, to account for students who enrolled after the October student count.

Pinellas had hired about 110 substitutes to co-teach in elementary and high schools as of Friday, Corbett said. As in Pasco, some Pinellas middle schools have paid some teachers to teach during their planning period.

Grego said that co-teaching with "high-quality" substitute teachers limits some of the last-minute shuffling of classes that can be devastating to students who already have formed friendships and bonded with teachers.

Emails and memos sent by Pinellas officials suggest substitutes have been used, in part, to save money. One email said the district was working to "right size" its teaching force.

Mike Gandolfo, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, said he understood why the district would hire substitutes in cases where the overflow isn't large enough to justify another classroom. But he said the arrangement isn't popular with all teachers. "The original teacher is still responsible for the grades and will be evaluated for the scores," he said.

A district spokeswoman said any substitute who leaves at the end of the month will be replaced, if necessary.

Contact Cara Fitzpatrick at cfitzpatrick@tampabay.com. Follow @Fitz_ly.