Idaho has the reputation of not paying its teachers a livable wage. For years educators have fought for any pay raise. It's not unusual for teachers to leave the Gem State once they've established a few years of experience. Some districts are opening up their wallets, if only temporarily, due to many teachers being out sick with Covid.

KTVB is reporting that the pay will increase significantly for substitute teachers, at least for the next few weeks. The Covid outbreak has hard-hit schools across the Treasure Valley and the state. Schools up north, in Caldwell and Nampa have closed their doors because of a lack of personnel.

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The West Ada Teachers Union has taken to social media to express their concerns about staffing during this rampant Omicron wave.  The union would like to promote a return to mask-wearing as a means of preventing the spread of the variant.


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Back to the pay raise for substitutes, the district broke down the pay raises on their Facebook page.  Here is the new rate for substitute teaching in the West Ada District.

Substitutes will be compensated based on:
1.) If a substitute works:
• 4 days per week (Monday-Friday), they will receive 1.5 times their daily rate of pay
• 5 days per week (Monday-Friday), they will receive 2 times their daily rate of pay
West Ada Certified staff members will also be seeing a bump in pay.
2.) Classified staff who work additional hours to support our schools will be compensated 2 times their hourly pay rate for any time they work outside their standard hours, with immediate supervisor approval.
3.) Contracted certificated staff that assists with additional duties or classroom coverage during their designated prep time will be compensated at a rate of $50.00 per hour.
You can read the entire Facebook post below:

West Ada and all other Idaho districts will continue to struggle to keep enough staff available to keep their schools open.  Most Idahoans do not want to see a return to remote learning which took place during the beginning of the pandemic.

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