Substitute teachers in School District 55 are going to be acquired through a Temporary Employment company. District 55 Chief Financial Officer Rodney Smith advised the School Board this past Monday night that due to certain state and federal rulings which involve how part-time employees are paid, the district will soon be contracting out the employment of substitute teachers to Kelly Employment Services.
Smith said “This is a problem all over the state, and Kelly has already been used in other districts, and from what I see, this as a win-win situation.”
The board had many questions on this change. Smith assured that the schools will still maintain control on what subs will be used and they will still have the power to control their performance. Referring to the Temp company, Smith said “They are going to use our people, pay them the same; but they are just going to be working for the Kelly Company. This way they can work as many hours as they want, get benefits, and even receive awards, like ‘Sub of the year,” Rodney Smith said he had his first meeting with Kelly last Saturday and he assured the board he had the same questions they were posing. He said when his meeting with the employment company was over, all his questions were answered.