Durango School District seeking substitutes, paraprofessionals and more at upcoming job fair

December might seem like an odd time for a school district job fair, but Durango School District 9-R is holding one next week.

The district’s timing is a strategic attempt to snag workers who may have been laid off or involved in other shakeups that can happen near the end of the year.

District spokeswoman Julie Popp said the school district usually participates in La Plata County’s regular fall job fair, but because that event wasn’t held this year and the district’s fiscal year is irregular compared with other organizations, the district will host its own job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Administration Building at 201 E. 12th St.

Durango School District’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. The district typically unfurls recruitment efforts for principals, educators and other staff members in the spring, but it is in such need to fill a variety of staff positions that it is taking a targeted approach midway through its fiscal year.

The district is offering full benefits for some part-time positions, Popp said. Mid-December seemed like a prime time to show off those benefits, she said.

District human resources officer Laura Galido said the school district has reduced the threshold for the number of hours a support staff employee needs to work to receive full insurance.

“Right now, if someone’s working for even just 16 hours a week, they are getting a full health and dental package with us,” she said.

The district needs substitute teachers, multiple full-time teachers, paraprofessionals and a range of other staff members. In its search for applicants, the district is hosting the Colorado Workforce Center and the Public Education Business Coalition at next week’s job fair.

The workforce center will be present to assist applicants with resumes, and the Public Education Business Coalition will assist people with at least a Bachelors of Arts who are interested in finding a career in teaching.

“They’re a great organization for this region and provide a lot of support to people in the Four Corners who are looking and thinking about work,” Galido said. “I’m just very grateful for their assistance.”

The school district has a high demand for substitute teachers and paraprofessionals, in particular, although the district has experienced an uptick in applications lately, which Popp said coincides with the idea that more people are seeking work.

Galido said the district always places as many substitute teacher candidates into its books as it can. It has daily districtwide substitutes as well as part-time or seasonal substitutes who will pick up work when they can.

The daily substitute teachers enter into an employment agreement with the district and work nearly every day of the school year that students are in session, she said.

Those substitutes are guaranteed work, they receive a higher rate of pay for each day they work, and they receive a full insurance package.

Galido said the district is a member of Colorado Public Employees' Retirement Association, a public employer retirement program. She tells people that working in a PERA system is “a long game.”

Part-time substitutes generally work less during a particular season because of personal needs. Sometimes, substitutes might pick up a second job in the winter, or they have children of their own and can’t participate as often in summer school programs because that is the time they want to spend with their children.

The district has about 80 substitutes on its books, but only about five full-time substitute teachers, Galido said.

She said that prospective substitute teachers are generally looking for a job that’s flexible to one extent or another.

“They know that they can work maybe two days a week but they can’t work every day of the week,” she said.

Individuals with children of their own, retired people, midterm graduates and former teachers are some of the most common applicants for a substituting role.

“Ultimately, when we’re looking for substitutes, we’re looking for anybody who’s interested in working a day, a week to as much as five days a week,” Galido said.

A substitute’s first five jobs pay $95 per day, she said. After those five jobs, their pay is bumped up to $125 per day.

Districtwide daily substitutes make $155 per day plus the full insurance package.

Three- to five-day jobs net $135 per day, while long-term assignments, which might range from two weeks to two months if someone is subbing for a teacher on maternity or paternity leave, pay $170 per day.

The school district offers year-round as well as nine-month employment to paraprofessionals and other support staff members.

The district employs 15 counselors and is seeking one more counselor or social worker for Fort Lewis Mesa Elementary School.

“All of our schools have counseling services at them,” Galido said. “We have two schools that share a counselor, and we’d like to put them full-time at each school. But every school has counseling services, and they also have social work services as well, and psychology services, too.”

Although the school district has recently filled its need for bus drivers, it is always seeking substitute drivers, she said. The district has 21 bus drivers and 23 bus routes.

The school district is looking to hire for these positions:

To view the school district’s full, detailed job listings, visit https://bit.ly/3DOmGKJ.

cburney@durangoherald.com