Bolivar raising substitute teacher pay by $20

BOLIVAR, Mo. — In an effort to stay competitive, Bolivar Schools are raising the pay rate for substitute teachers.

The raise started on Nov. 1, 2024. It's an extra $20 a day.

Ayra Hoffman has been a substitute teacher in Bolivar for 11 years.

"Because I'm aware of what other districts in our area have paid, yes, it could very much impact me staying here or going elsewhere," Hoffman said.

She says even though she doesn't do the job because of the money, it definitely helps.

"I actually chose Bolivar as the school system that I wanted to step in because I had children here," Hoffman said.

She tells me she didn't want to go back to working full time, where she would be unavailable for her kids.

"With the economy the way it has gone lately, my husband's actually been talking about maybe it's time that I go back to work full time in a job that would be perhaps higher pay," Hoffman said. "So a pay increase for me could mean the difference in me continuing to do what I enjoy and finding something else that I can learn to enjoy out of the school district."

As of this month, the Bolivar School District raised its substitute teacher pay to $120 a day.

"That's up from the previous rate of $100, which puts us more into a more competitive rate in comparison to our local districts in the county and in our conference," said Bolivar Superintendent Michael Methvin.

He says he hopes this pay increase will draw more substitute teachers to the district.

"We were a little bit behind from smaller comparison districts," Methvin said. "So this will get us where we're on par across the board."