To avert substitute teacher ‘crisis’ in Providence schools, legislators fast track bill

PROVIDENCE – Legislation to avert a potential substitute teacher crisis in the Providence schools by allowing retirees to work longer, without giving up their pensions, was put on the fast-track Tuesday.

The House Finance Committee approved legislation to extend the time retired teachers can return to work without loss of their retirement benefits from 90 to 120 school days, which equates to two-thirds of the school year.

At the same time the House committee was voting, in anticipation of a full House debate and vote on Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee was gearing up for its own hearing on the “crisis” that came to light last week.

Asked where Gov. Dan McKee stands, his spokeswoman Olivia DaRocha told The Journal: “Addressing the teacher shortage is a critical issue that the Executive Branch and General Assembly can work together to address. The Governor will evaluate the final details of the bill when it reaches his desk.”

The president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and the lobbyists for the Rhode Island Department of Education and the R.I. School Superintendents Association put the lawmakers on notice that some substitutes were, at that point, less than 10 days away from hitting their limit.

As it is, they said a shortage of teachers has required at least some Providence schools to park students in random classrooms, where there are teachers, so they are not left unsupervised.

Senate Finance Chairman Louis DiPalma said the problems are not likely to go away if the retirees are cleared for another 30 days as substitutes.

He said Providence has been “hemorrhaging teachers, and they started the year down 100-plus for the last several years. Over the course of [a] few years, they lost over 30% of their teachers, 75% of those were not retirements.”

“Fast forward 30 days from now,” he said. “What happens?”

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In response to inquiries, RIDE spokesman Victor Morente told The Journal last week that: retirees substituting as teachers can make up to $300 a day and other substitutes can make anywhere from $200 to $225 daily.

As of last Thursday, there were 366 substitutes in the Providence school system, including: 100 retired substitute teachers and 23 substitute administrators. Of those 123, 11 were at that point within 10 days or fewer from reaching their 90-day limit to still receive their pension payments.

In an interview at the State House on Tuesday, Senate President Dominick Ruggerio told The Journal he anticipated the bill would get a Senate committee vote later this week, with full Senate action on the first Tuesday (Feb.28) that the lawmakers return from their winter break.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bill to avert substitute teacher crisis in PPSD fast tracked in General Assembly