SPRINGDALE -- Substitute teacher pay is increasing again in Springdale as the school district aims to keep up with pay rates elsewhere in the region.
The School Board on Tuesday unanimously approved an incentive for substitute teachers in the form of an additional $20 per day. The move is retroactive to Dec. 1.
The district previously had this incentive in place but eliminated it at the beginning of this school year, according to Deputy Superintendent Kelly Hayes.
With the change, Springdale's substitute pay will range from $110 to $125 per day, depending on experience and level of education, according to district documents.
The increase brings Springdale in line with what the Bentonville, Fayetteville and Rogers school districts are paying. All three districts have raised their rates within the past two months as they struggle with substitute teacher shortages.
"We're all fighting for the same people obviously, so we want to make sure we're competitive," Hayes told the board.
The incentive is temporary and will be funded using the district's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief money "until this labor shortage subsides," Hayes wrote in a memo to Superintendent Jared Cleveland.
Valerie Hanna, a kindergarten teacher at Elmdale Elementary School, spoke at Tuesday's board meeting, representing the Springdale Education Association. She told the board she's glad to see the substitute pay incentive coming back.
"Because it's definitely a struggle right now," Hanna said. "I know you guys already know that."
In other business at the meeting, Paul Miller, director of technology, presented an update on new technology the district plans to install on school buses geared toward improving route efficiency and student safety.
Tablets will be mounted at the front of each bus that will provide drivers turn-by-turn directions specific to the routes they are running.