Stoughton High Substitute Teacher Requests Higher Pay

A substitute teacher at Stoughton High School is asking for a higher wage from the school district.

During a recent school committee meeting, Jonathan Lott asked the committee for a $15 raise during the public speaking portion of the meeting, which would increase the daily pay of substitute teacher from $75 a day to $90 before taxes.

“We don’t get benefits, we don’t have a union, we don’t get paid holidays, we don’t get a paid summer vacation and with the exception of the administration and other teachers, we don’t get much respect, especially from the kids,” he said.

Lott said that substitute teachers usually get a call to work at 6 a.m. and are at the school from 7:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.

A former teacher at a school in Connecticut, Lott said the average starting pay for a Stoughton elementary or middle school teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $42,000, much higher than the $13,500 a substitute would make if they worked all 180 days of school.

“If you are a substitute teacher and it’s your 10th year working for the district you’re pay is 13,500. There is no pay scale or reward for experience,” he said. “There is a need for substitute in the district and I think increasing the pay would at least increase the supply of substitutes willing to go to work.”

Due to the rules of public comment, the school committee was not allowed to issue a response. If the committee wishes to address the topic, they must place the item on a future agenda.