Pay for substitute teachers will rise to $150 a day

In the wake of the pandemic when substitute teachers were in short supply, Cloquet School Board members approved raising the daily pay for substitute teachers to $150 a day during Monday’s meeting, up from $116 a day. They also moved the position to the district non-union rate sheet. In the future, superintendent Michael Cary said the substitute pay will be increased annually by the same percentage as the teacher contract because of the move.

Cary explained that substitute teachers work eight hours, including a 30-minute lunch break. “We thought $20 an hour was a good minimum for a substitute teacher, considering they’re licensed with a 4-year degree,” he said. The board also voted to increase the rate for substitute LPNs and occupational therapists from $14.40 to $19.89 per hour. The school district is currently accepting applications for substitute teachers.

Board members also approved a two-year contract with the teachers union, with raises of 2.45 percent the first year and 2 percent the second, which reflected the state’s increase to the school funding formula. The board also approved more credits for families with two parents working for the district because of insurance savings. Cary said a provision in the contract that would have paid teachers more money if they have to teach both in-class and distance learners was moot, because the legislature didn’t pass a law that would have allowed districts to continue to offer distance learning as an alternative.

Soccer leave

With captains’ practice starting that morning, board members voted Monday to allow head boys soccer coach Dave Bergan to take a one-year leave of absence from his job as a high school counselor and soccer coach, to move with his family to Alaska.

Superintendent Michael Cary explained that the move was temporary, caused by a relocation of the counselor’s wife’s job for a limited period of time, and the family intends to keep their home here and return within a year. Although family residence changes do not qualify for leave of absence, Bergan is planning to take classes at the University of Alaska Anchorage in restorative practices and working with students in trauma, which does qualify him for a leave.

“I think he does a pretty good job there, I’d hate to lose him,” board member Dave Battaglia said. The board voted 4-2, with Nate Sandman and Hawk Huard voting “nay,” to approve the leave request from his counseling position. Sandman had expressed concern that it will be difficult to find a qualified applicant for the counseling position for a one-year contract in such a short timeframe.

Board members expressed concern about setting a precedent allowing head coaches to take leave. If they approved the leave, Cary said activities director Paul Riess would likely appoint one of the current assistant coaches as interim coach rather than posting the coaching position externally. The board would have to approve that change. Bergan said he would continue to work with the assistants through tryouts, Cary said. Sandman was the sole “nay” vote on the leave of absence from coaching.

Because they meet only once in July, the next Cloquet school board meeting is set for Monday, Aug. 9 starting at 5:30 p.m. at the boardroom at Garfield School. Members of the public are welcome to attend. Meetings are also livestreamed on YouTube with the link posted to isd94.org.

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Classes offered for credit

Although most summer school classes wrapped up July 1, high school students from across Carlton County can still take classes for credit, courtesy of a partnership with REACH and Carlton County. Even if a student doesn’t need to recover a credit, they can take the classes to earn extra credits.

Class offerings are:

• Life Skills: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 19-23. This course will focus on career readiness, financial planning and cooking basics.

• Agricultural Science: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 19-23. A multidisciplinary learning environment built around various small-farm practices and experience.

• Dog Training: 2:30-6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, July 13-29. Students will learn about a dog training facility, dog behaviors and more.

• Music Robots: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 26-30. Multidisciplinary learning covering a range of domains including computer science, multimodal interfaces and processing, artificial intelligence, electronics.

• Ecology: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 26-30. Hands-on experiential learning with a variety of field trips focusing on a swath of environments, micro-niches and intersections of the natural world.

Contact Hannah Tate at [email protected] about these credit recovery options.