CHARLESTON, W.Va. — It got more expensive last school year in Kanawha County to cover the cost of substitute teachers and service personnel.
School system Treasurer Harry Reustle said Tuesday the final cost will be more than $5 million, which is about $300,000 more than the previous school year.
Teachers, cooks, secretaries and other service personnel missed a lot of days. Reustle said some of those were sick days while other absences were school-related.
Kanawha County School Superintendent Ron Duerring has expressed concern for the last few years about the number of days employees take off and the rising cost. Teacher unions successfully worked against a bill at the state legislature back in March that would have changed the way personal leave days are calculated for teachers.
Right now teachers are given 15 leave days when the school year begins. The bill would have changed that to have the teachers accrue the time off each month.
Treasurer Reustle said he doesn’t have a final cost for substitute workers from last school year but it’s already at more than $5 million. It was $4.6 million the year before. Reustle has budgeted $4.8 million for the coming school year.