The Portage schools no longer will require substitute teacher candidates to have 60 hours of college credits. Instead, candidates can have a high school diploma, pass an interview and screening process and demonstrate experience working with children, Superintendent Amanda Alaniz said at the June 24 meeting.
The move is similar to what’s going on in school districts across Porter County, but, the change in hiring standards does not apply to candidates looking for permanent teaching positions, Alaniz said.
“(The new hiring standard) will expand the substitute candidate pool significantly and allow us to offer opportunities for those in communities and parents who continuously come to volunteer in our schools but who don’t have college credits,” she said.
Melissa Deavers-Lowie, the district’s communications director, said the finance department is working out “a new, multitiered payment schedule” to address the new requirements. The pay rates in effect now are $80 a day for subs with teaching licenses and $70 a day for subs without licenses.
The board also approved the purchase of nine 72-passenger buses, four 54-passenger buses and two special purpose vehicles, each carrying up to 14 passengers, for $1,427,983.
The purchase amount likely would have been up to 20% higher if the district was not part of a statewide, co-op program under the Central Indiana Educational Service Center.
According to the service website, all Indiana school districts can get discounts using the service’s group purchasing program, no matter how may vehicles they want to buy.
Twice a year, school districts can put in their bus requests for vendors to begin the bidding process. The pooling of resources from all of the districts gives schools much more buying power, and, in the case of Portage Township Schools, that has meant up to 20% savings, Alaniz said.
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