By Eric Stock

BLOOMINGTON – District 87 is hosting a job fair next week as it hopes to address its shortage of substitute teachers.

Superintendent Barry Reilly admits the pay isn’t great.

PODCAST: Listen to Scott and Colleen’s interview with Reilly and Daniels on WJBC.

“That $80 a day can be a barrier and that’s one of the challenges we have not just here in District 87, but throughout the state because any increase we provide there adds on to an already deficit-spending plan,” Reilly said.

Reilly told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin working as a substitute can be great training ground for an aspiring teacher. He says he was a sub for more than a year after he graduated.

“It’s a great avenue for them to take as a substitute teacher for a year to get them in the door,” Human Resources Director Suzanne Daniels said. “That could lead to a teaching job the following year.”

Daniels said the district has 175 substitutes but could use about 40 more.

Retired teachers make $100 per day, but they can’t work more than 100 days without losing their pension.

Substitutes need to get licensed through the Regional Office of Education. They must pay a $60 fee for a background check, a $100 application fee and $50 registration fee.

Unit 5 officials say they are occasionally short on teachers, but a job fair last year helped them address that shortage. They have 378 active subs.

District human resources manager Curt Richardson said the district has had to increase its stipend for specialized instructors, such as speech language pathologists. He added the district still has shortages on Fridays and close to holidays and the district’s outlying schools such as Benjamin and Cedar Ridge elementarties and George Evans Junior High have a more difficult time finding substitutes.

The District 87 job fair is from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesday at the district offices in Bloomington.

Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].