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A local employment agency will help Enid Public Schools hire more substitute teachers for the upcoming semester as hiring in-house has proven increasingly difficult.
EPS is set to pay Enid-based TPI Staffing Service Inc. an additional 19% rate to seek and employ daily substitutes, Board of Education members unanimously approved Monday night.
District officials said this surcharge will be added to substitutesâ current reported $80 daily pay if certified. EPS would then pay $95.20 total a day for a teacherâs filled absence.
Through this agreement, district officials said they hope to hire 20 more qualified substitutes by Feb. 1.
TPI also will absorb expenses such as workersâ compensation, Social Security tax and state and federal tax, according to an agreement signed by TPI President Darren Janes. The district also will pay 1.5 times the regular contract rate for each hour over 40 hours a week, and 1.5-2 times on holidays.
EDITORIAL: We like new EPS plan to return to school enidnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from enidnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Enid Public Schools will return to in-person instruction after the Christmas break. (File Photo)
Enid Public Schools students and staff will return to school next semester after nearly two months of distance learning brought about by the rise of COVID-19 cases in Garfield County.
EPS Board of Education on Monday night passed a revision to the districtâs COVID-19 re-entry plan, changing how administrators determine whether to close schools once classes begin again on Jan. 5, 2021.
Decisions will be made largely on a site-by-site basis, rather than following the state Department of Educationâs recommendation to follow weekly state health reports on community spread in Oklahoma counties. Whether a school will close depends on if enough faculty and staff are present to run school effectively; or if under 30% of a specific siteâs students, faculty and staff are affected due to COVID-19. These counts are available online.
Instead of state suggestion, EPS would use new COVID-19 criteria enidnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from enidnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Enid Public Schools’ superintendent will recommend at Monday’s school board meeting that the district follow new guidelines to determine whether to move to distance learning beginning in the spring semester.