Hays CISD’s need for substitutes increases as Omicron hits local school district

Sierra Martin | Managing Editor

HAYS COUNTY – The COVID-19 pandemic and emergence of the Omicron Variant has caused strain on teachers, students and administrators throughout the country. In the past few weeks, local Hays County CISD has had to work hard to maintain daily operations with a shortage of bus drivers and over twice the average amount of substitute teachers needed. 

Hays CISD Chief Communication Officer Tim Savoy said that the district has seen a significant rise in substitute teachers needed compared to last year. 

“We typically need about 180 subs a day coming out of the Christmas break. This year, we averaged a need of 300 to 350 subs a day, with a high watermark on Jan. 11, 2022, of needing 455 subs,” Savoy said. 

Savoy says that the current COVID-19 data is starting to trend in the districts’ favor. 

“It’s not enough to declare that we may have peaked with Omicron, but it is a positive sign,” said Savoy. “On Monday, Jan. 24, 2022, we only needed 260 subs. That is still more than normal, but nowhere near what we were seeing last week or the week before.”

Hays CISD is asking people to apply to be substitute teachers and is waiving certifications and college education requirements normally needed for the position.

“For COVID, with a principal recommendation, we were able to waive the requirement that an applicant had 30 hours of college on their transcript,” Savoy said. “We had 15 people in that category. The rest of the requirements – criminal fingerprint background check, orientation, etc. all still apply.”

According to the online application, a substitute “guest” teacher is responsible for providing instruction, managing the classroom environment, and promoting student learning in the absence of the regular classroom teacher.”

In a Facebook post by the school district, guest teachers will have competitive compensation, access to health insurance, ongoing training opportunities and bonus programs. 

Due to a shortage of bus drivers, the week of Jan. 24, 2022, Hays County CISD announced on their website that buses might be running late this week. 

“Regarding bus drivers, we have 18 openings out of about 15,” said Hays CISD. “We have about 20 to 25 on quarantine for COVID. We have not had to cancel bus service at this time.”

So far this semester, no classes or campuses have closed in the district. Savoy believes there are two key reasons for upholding in-person classes for students. 

“We know that they do much better academically with an in-person teacher and classroom experience,” said Savoy. “We also know that the social and emotional well-being of our students is negatively affected when we close. Most students who are in school are glad to be there and fear that we may have to close again. Closing schools last year was pretty traumatic for students across the board. They were less motivated, not engaged, and depressed.”

Hays CISD COVID-19 cases can be found on their dashboard, which is updated daily.