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Case Study

A Growing District Needs More Substitute Teachers

How Yukon ISD 27 offers incentives like flexible pay to meet the needs of substitutes and draw them into the district.

Yukon ISD 27 Hero Image

District Background

  • Location

    Yukon, Oklahoma

  • K-12 Enrollment

    9,500-10,000

  • Full-time Employees

    1,100

  • Product & Solutions

    Wagestream

More absences = a greater need for substitutes. Simple math, right?

How about this: (Absences)2 = (Need for Substitutes)2

Or, as Amy Haberzettle puts it: “On a daily basis, the amount of employees who are absent is growing exponentially.”

Amy is an HR Solution Specialist at Yukon Independent School District 27 in Yukon, Oklahoma. Yukon ISD has about 650 teachers, and around 1,100 total staff. “We’re a growing district. What we’ve also noticed is there is a higher percentage of absences being taken every day. Even though our sub pool has grown this past year, we also have a growing need,” she says. “When you have more employees, you need more subs.”

Financial Challenges for Substitute Teachers

Around 50 substitutes work on any given day, but the need usually rises to around 75 or 80. That shortage has been present since the pandemic: many substitutes are older, and some who are at increased risk from COVID have been reluctant to return to school buildings.

Some substitutes find it difficult to wait until the end of a pay cycle to access wages. “I have a couple of subs who would call frequently, asking if we knew of any resources to help pay for utility bills and things like that, because it was hitting them hard, especially right around COVID,” Amy says. Younger substitutes who take jobs to supplement their incomes while in college or working in retail sometimes need quicker access to pay to make ends meet. Older people who substitute can face similar situations. “Some retirees, they’re living paycheck to paycheck and they’re just taking jobs to help buy medicine and things like that on the side.”

Amy says substitutes want to work for Yukon, in fact, they often far prefer working for the district than other employers. “That’s what kept them loyal, because here you’re part of our Yukon team. However, they needed that weekly pay.”

Taking Steps to Attract Substitutes

Yukon is actively offering incentives to make substitute teaching more attractive. Hearing about the need many substitutes had to access pay more quickly, a few years ago the district increased the frequency of its payroll cycles. “Here at Yukon, we are able to pay twice a month, so it’s a little bit more frequent than some others around here who are typically once a month. However, usually if that sub is picking up jobs, if they’re younger they probably need that money pretty quick,” says Amy. That certainly helps, although there is a delay to allow the payroll department to ensure the correct amounts are paid.

Yukon also offers a $60 stipend to substitutes once they work 10 days in the year, enough to cover the cost of the background checks each substitute is required to submit. And they provide training in specific skill areas that substitutes will need, such as classroom management and using interactive whiteboards — even working one on one with substitutes who may be interested in pursuing a full-time teaching career.

And, Yukon has begun offering Wagestream as a benefit to its substitutes.

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Yukon ISD’s Substitute Incentives

  • Twice-monthly payroll
  • $60 pay incentive once a substitute works 10 days in a year (covers cost of background check)
  • Training on necessary substitute teaching skills
  • Flexible pay with Wagestream

Wagestream: A Flexible Pay Benefit

Wagestream is a service that enables substitute teachers to access flexible pay based on jobs worked, as reported through Frontline’s Absence Management. Once a substitute teacher completes a job, they can access up to 60% of their pay through Wagestream immediately. Amy saw the benefit right away: “It was definitely exciting to hear that they’d have access to get paid when they need it, instead of waiting for our payroll.”

What Will Payroll Say?

Amy says she was initially a bit nervous. “My concerns were mostly, will there be more burden for our payroll, more legwork, more tracking? For garnishments and things like that, is this something that we’re going to have to eventually end up carrying the load?” But as she learned how the process works between Frontline and Wagestream and that it doesn’t require support or technical integration with payroll, her enthusiasm began to grow. “Every anxiety was relieved, because they talked through beautifully how it’s processed, how it works, and how Wagestream takes care of pretty much all of it. All we need to do is let people know it’s available.”

Amy Haberzettle Photo

“They address every single one of those issues and made it very clear: never at any point would our district get hit with any of those things.”

Amy Haberzettle
– HR Solution Specialist, Yukon ISD 27

The payroll department had no complaints, and Yukon moved quickly to offer Wagestream to substitutes.

How Easy Is It to Get Started?

Amy loved how easy it was to get started with Wagestream. She reached out to Wagestream and Frontline and asked to be part of an early rollout, and two weeks later they were up and running. Curious what the experience looked like, Amy set up a test account for herself as a substitute to familiarize herself with the system. “As soon as we saw it, we began pushing out information to the subs, emailing them, and showing them exactly what it looks like. Honestly, it was super easy. We just communicated it to our subs. It was hands off the rest of the way.”

“Honestly, it was super easy. We just communicated it to our subs. It was hands off the rest of the way.”

Amy Haberzettle
– HR Solution Specialist, Yukon ISD 27

A Recruiting Tool

Amy said her department began promoting Wagestream on job postings, highlighting it as a benefit to attract substitutes to the district. She is hoping to attract more younger substitute teachers, people who love working with kids but might tend to need quicker access to pay.

“Here at Yukon, trying to have a more personal touch, and having that flexible pay may help us fulfill the needs of our subs a little bit better. I can see that being another key piece for us.”

“Having at least a portion of their income available right then, I’m hoping to see a key turning point to get more people to take jobs when they need that instant money.”

Amy Haberzettle
– HR Solution Specialist, Yukon ISD 27


Learn more about Wagestream

Fill out the form below and we’ll be in touch about how you can offer Wagestream’s services to the substitutes in your district.

 

About Frontline Education

Frontline Education is a leading provider of school administration software, connecting solutions for student and special programs, business operations and human capital management with powerful analytics to empower educators. Frontline partners with school systems to deliver tools, data and insights that support greater efficiency and productivity, enabling school leaders to spend more time and resources executing strategies that drive educator effectiveness, student success and district excellence.

Frontline’s broad portfolio includes solutions for proactive recruiting and hiring, absence and time management, professional growth, student information systems, special education, special programs, Medicaid reimbursement, school health management, inventory control and asset management, payroll, benefits and financial management, and analytics solutions that help district leaders tap into their data to make more informed decisions for the benefit of their students and communities. Over 10,000 clients representing millions of educators, administrators and support personnel have partnered with Frontline Education in their efforts to develop the next generation of learners.