The Brown County School Board of Trustees is considering contracting with Kelly Educational Staffing to handle the district’s substitute teacher program.

This means that all substitute teachers in the district would be employed by and receive their benefits, like health insurance, through Kelly Education Staffing.

Brown County Schools does not currently offer health insurance to its substitute teachers.

Kelly Education Staffing would also handle all training for substitutes, the hiring/screening process for new employees and filling spots when a teacher is unable to make it into the classroom. The company could also tap into its pool of substitute teachers if there are no local subs available in the county.

Principals would still be able to request certain substitutes as well as prevent others from subbing in their school.

“I just get a little sad every morning when I see three, four, five positions that can’t be filled,” Superintendent Laura Hammack said. “It’s a problem, because then our teachers are scrambling to help each other out, to fill in.”

Kelly Education Services would also manage payroll. This means that the district could pay out of its Capital Project Fund — which is healthier — instead of paying substitutes directly from the general fund.

Brown County Schools currently pays non-certified substitutes $63 and certified substitutes $72. The cost to the district would increase to $88.45 per day for non-certified subs under Kelly Education Services.

The recommendation to approve the contract is on the Nov. 17 school board agenda. The meeting will be 6:30 p.m. at the Brown County Intermediate School.