AASD asked to address pay cut

Substitutes’ extra wages ended in favor of new bonus system

Concerns about substitute pay and the Keith Athletic Field were raised at Monday night's Altoona Area School Board meeting.

Rosemary Ellis talked about a pay cut for substitute teachers for the 2023-24 school year.

Ellis has been a substitute since 2017 and noted ESS was hired to handle substitutes in September 2019.

The daily rate of pay was $105 for the first 20 days worked in the school year, and went up to $115 on day 21.

Last year, teachers had the opportunity to make an extra $10 per day if they worked 12 or more days per month, Ellis said.

In September, she got an email from ESS that said as of Sept. 18, the school district was doing away with that.

"We would no longer be getting that extra $10 a day, what we call longevity pay," Ellis said.

Instead, there was a new bonus policy where subs would make $30 if they worked 15 days per month or more.

"This is a very generous incentive," she said, and believes that long-term subs deserve it.

Ellis felt that this new policy discriminates against older teachers who are semi-retired and are only able to work part time due health or family obligations.

She averages about 10 to 12 days a month.

"I had a hard time even reaching that because of things like snow or virtual days" when she would be off, Ellis said.

Ellis said she thinks the people benefiting from the new bonus policy would be younger graduates entering the job market who are able to work more days.

"I think the district took away our extra $10 to put it towards the bonus," Ellis said.

When she called the Hollidaysburg Area School District, she was surprised to learn that it pays subs $120 and Bellwood-Antis pays $100.

School Board President Frank Meloy said that was something board members were not aware of and would have to be discussed with the administration.

"If there is a need for us to be competitive with other school districts, we will take the appropriate action," he said.

Superintendent Brad Hatch said he has talked to Ellis and explained that the change was not meant to penalize anyone.

"The change was made to give our limited pool of subs the incentive to take more days," he said.

With the $30 a day, it can amount to $450 extra a month.

Hatch said that officials are going to look into what they can do for subs who are only able to work 10 to 15 days.

Athletic field future

Thomas Quinn also made a comment on Keith Athletic Field.

He said the city of Altoona has paid a consulting company thousands of dollars to figure solutions for housing issues.

One of the things it recommended was to invest in more green space and parks because it was below for a city of Altoona's size, Quinn said.

"Keith Athletic Field is the only green space we have in the area -- if you get rid of it -- once it is gone, it is gone," he said.

Quinn said he thought it would be cheaper to revamp the field than start fresh somewhere else.

Stevie Rutherford was also concerned about the field, as her children play soccer there.

She was concerned about the city's plans for the space and worried for the safety of the surrounding neighborhood.

"I hope that community members like me would be a part of the discussion on what will happen," Rutherford said.

Meloy said the board has not taken any actions regarding the Keith Athletic Field, and there is no definitive decision on what is to be done with it.

"It has created some community interest and we want to do the right thing," he said.

Hatch said he understands the public's concerns.

They currently have an active lease with the soccer club who use and help maintain the field, he said.

The city of Altoona is looking to develop available properties and Keith Athletic Field is one of them, he said.

"There are conversations about it on the city's end, and it is part of their comprehensive plan," he said.

Hatch said nothing has been finalized on the city's side, the property has not been listed, and the school board has also not approved anything at this time.