The Claiborne County Board of Education decided, after a lengthy presentation, to table the final decision to contract with Professional Educational Services Group (PESG) until the September meeting. Vice-chairman Shannon England made the motion with the understanding that the members of the board spend the time garnering comments and suggestions from all concerned citizens.
Kim Woodson, regional director of sales and service, spent a great deal of time detailing the strong points that she says would greatly assist the school system in placing substitute teachers, when needed.
“Our goal is to provide support for you, so that you can work at what school you want to work at, you can work as much as you want to work.
“Our focus is to help the substitutes. You are the bridge between the teacher and the student. Because you’re there, education continues,” said Woodson.
The PESG system allows for 24/7 coverage.
“It doesn’t matter when (a teacher) becomes sick. And, your favorite sub is notified first. You’re not going to lose anything – you’re going to gain.
“Your (the substitute’s) pay is not going to be decreased. The board of education sets the pay,” said Woodson.
A survey was sent out, she said, to some 50,000 substitutes. Out of 27,000 returned surveys, Woodson said the top three most important concerns listed by the substitutes were appreciation, training and pay.
The first thing the company did, she said, was to create annual appreciation picnics and to honor top substitutes of the year.
PESG offers and requires training in areas that will strengthen substitute teacher skills in the classroom.
Although pay is set by the school system, Woodson said her company offers various incentives and special drawings.
A substitute teacher in the audience asked just how much it would cost the county to contract with PESG.
“Where’s the money going to come from? Another wheel tax,” he said.
Woodson said the ‘markup’ is 24.95 percent. She pointed out the current school system sub pay is $55. If contracted with her company, the BOE would pay $72 per substitute.
“Out of the ($17 difference), we pay Workmen’s Comp, unemployment, (payroll checks and deposits). We pay all the taxes – the school system doesn’t pay it, anymore,” said Woodson.
Vice-chairman England agreed, saying that almost 8 percent of that difference would be taken up with employment taxes, which the county currently pays.
“It comes out to about $6 or $7 per absence – is what the markup truly is,” said England.
This, Woodson said, enables a substitute to work more.
“Because of Obamacare, a lot of substitutes have only been working two and three days a week. And, they’re getting two jobs or three jobs to support their family. Because you’re not limited in how many days you can work, this can be a full-time job for some people,” said Woodson.
PESG offers voluntary healthcare insurance, with four plans, through Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
“Say, you have insurance that’s going to cost you, say, $299 a month. So, say in the month of August, you work 20 days. In the month of September, you’re going to pay your insurance for $299 and, you’re also going to receive a check from PESG for $200. And, that’s straight from our pocket. That’s a thank you, from us, to help make healthcare affordable, for you,” said Woodson.
The company also offers dental, vision and 401K through its voluntary insurance plans.
Woodson explained the PESG system process.
“We have an automated call system and, most of all, we have calling centers. If you don’t have a phone or you can’t get internet, you can just call us before you leave the school or you can say ‘just call me at 6 o’clock in the morning and tell me what school’s available,’” said Woodson.
Some of the hardest jobs to fill are the last-minute, early morning ones. The company becomes familiar with just what schools each substitute prefers or, which school prefers which substitutes. When an absence is recorded in the PESG system, the call center can immediately zero in on the preferences and connect the right sub with the right school, she said, making minimal delays in placement.
“You can choose the jobs you want. You can reject the jobs you want. You can set up your favorite school to work in. And, so can the teachers – the teachers can still have their favorite subs.
“The good thing is, that teacher won’t have to chase you down, trying to find you and asking you to work for her. All she has to do is put your name in the system and it’s going to call you,” said Woodson.
Another plus, she said, is that teachers can put a favorite substitute name in the system through the end of the school year to cover any known absences that might occur, like professional development days.
The automated system, accessed by computer or smartphone, allows for the credentials of any individual substitute to be reviewed.
“Say, if you have a certified teacher, and you hire from the substitute pool, we’ll do everything we can to make your transition as an employee of Claiborne County schools very easy, and there’s no charge for that. A lot of our counterparts charge a school to hire from a sub-pool. We do not,” said Woodson.
The school system has the autonomy, she said, to approve who enters any building.
“They cannot come to work for us, unless they are approved by Claiborne County. As a principal, if someone is in your building that you feel they did not do a good job with your kids, you can move them to a ‘Do Not Use’ list,” said Woodson.
PESG contracts are normally three years in length. Written into the agreement is a 30 day clause, with no penalties attached.
“At any time, they can cancel our contract. If we are not pleasing to the board, then they can cancel it with 30 days’ notice,” said Woodson.
In other action, Dr. Joseph Miller, director of schools, announced that the county campuses will be closed on Aug. 21 as a weather-related day, due to the expected solar eclipse.
Reach Jan Runions at 423-254-5588 or on Twitter @scribeCP.
