Fewer Subs- Polk County Florida Looking To Cut School Costs

Polk County students in Florida may see some important people in their classrooms instead of the regular substitute teacher.

In an effort to save money school officials are thinking about using district employees who are not educators instead of coughing up $80 for a sub. This plan would save the school board about $50,000 of the budget if each of the 620 employees who are qualified to teach fill in one day out of the year. Principals are also being given the option to spilt up classes and move students elsewhere when a teacher is ill. Each school has their own substitute budget. The size of the budget depends on the number of students registered there. There isn't a shortage of people wanting to be substitute teachers. Since last July the county has had 2,252 applications. Once the county has a list of 1,250 substitute teachers they stop hiring each year. To be a substitute teacher in Polk County one has to be 18 years old and have at least 30 hours of college credit. If the new plan of using available employees as resource teachers passes there will be a smaller substitute teacher hiring this coming year.