The article about the trouble finding substitute teachers contained the answer to the problem (“Maine scrambles to find more substitute teachers,” Oct. 1). Look at what they’re paying.

Local schools are paying substitutes $75 per day — just about $10 an hour — and that’s for a sub with a four-year college degree. Less education than that and it’s $65 per day. That’s simply insulting.

To the best of my recollection, substitutes were paid $25 per day back in 1971 when a starting teacher was paid $5,500-$6,500 per year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation over that time period would make that $150 per day in today’s dollars — twice what they’re offering now.

While it is not always possible to keep up with inflation, I’ll bet that if you looked at the superintendents’ salaries over the same time period, you’d find that they’ve done better than the subs have.

Harold Booth

Hallowell


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