At the same time, new one-year licenses issued dropped from 8,578 in 2008 to 6,753 in 2011, signaling that fewer new licensed subs are joining the pool while others are holding on to their substitute option longer.
A teaching license also qualifies for substitute teaching, so the substitute licenses are only part of the overall part-timer group, said Patrick Gallaway, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Education.
Other officials said the numbers match the trend of fewer teaching openings and job openings forcing workers into short-term solutions.
The licensing renewals suggest nonteachers have kept subbing options open for longer, said Angela Dicke, coordinator of the Ohio Center for Substitute Teachers.
The data indicate Ohio’s difficulty in putting workers into full-time jobs.
“The only requirement in Ohio (to earn a substitute license) is to have a four-year degree in anything, a clean background check and 25 bucks,” Dicke said. “We know what’s going on in the world today, that more people don’t have jobs. Then they see, ‘Well, I only need 25 bucks to get a license.’ ”
The renewal increase comes at a time when many schools are cutting teacher ranks. According to Ohio Department of Education data, 355 of 844 public districts or charter schools saw a decrease or no change in their number of teachers from the 2007-08 school year to 2010-11. More than half of those reporting, 453 of 844, saw a decrease, no change or increase of fewer than two total teachers.
“Based on when I was a superintendent, you would get two categories of people applying (to be substitutes),” said Damon Asbury, director of legislative services for the Ohio School Boards Association. “There were new and beginning teachers who couldn’t find a full-time position and others, maybe retired teachers or others who have been out of the workforce, who wanted a way to spend some time helping. I’d say both of those groups are probably bigger today than in recent years.”
The license numbers suggest that districts can choose from more experienced substitutes. That could help districts because serving as a substitute is a niche assignment, said Dicke, whose center offers substitute training.
“Being a substitute teacher is a different beast than having your own classroom,” she said. “Seasoned teachers obviously know what it’s like to have their own classroom, but they’ve never really been in the position of substitute teaching daily, of the struggle that can be.”
Rhonda Miller of the Butler County Educational Resource Center said figures for the number of substitute teachers on their records matches the statewide trend. Miller maintains substitute teacher records for the Lakota, Madison, Monroe, Little Miami and Ross school districts.
Since 2009, returning substitutes went from being 55 percent of the workforce to 60 percent this school year. In 2009, there were 66 more returning subs available in the pool of substitutes than newly licensed teachers.
“My records indicate that many substitutes have been returning for three or more years, some as long as 7-8 years,” said Pam Tone of the Warren County ESC office.
Officials for the Fairfield, Middletown and Hamilton school districts said they do not keep their substitute teaching pool numbers from year to year.
“If I had to speculate, I would say that the trend makes sense, because most newly licensed teachers can’t afford to substitute on a regular basis,” said Lisa M. Lowery, Middletown City Schools director of human resources.
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