Hiring Subs 'Bureaucratic': Elmhurst D-205 Officials

ELMHURST, IL — Like most districts, Elmhurst School District 205 is struggling to find substitute teachers to fill a greater number of openings during the pandemic.

On Thursday, a couple of Elmhurst school board members blamed the difficulties, in part, on the bureaucracy involved in licensing short-term substitutes.

In 2018, Illinois enacted a law allowing licenses for short-term substitutes, lowering the requirement to 60 hours of college credit, rather than bachelor's degrees.

At a policy committee meeting Thursday, board member Margaret Harrell said "bureaucratic processes" are limiting people's abilities to become substitutes. She said residents are talking about how they are trying to get their licenses.

Another member, Courtenae Trautmann, agreed. She said the process is set by the state, not District 205.

"It is frustrating," she said. "We hear it from the community as well. We ask them to go through the process that you are required to go through. A lot of them quit when they see how bureaucratic and time-consuming it is. It seems like the process is not an easy one."

Luke Pavone, the district's assistant superintendent for human resources, said it is hard to find substitutes now.

"Districts aren't receiving applications," he said. "People just don't want to work in the pandemic. We are seeing that across the board. People are very hesitant to work during the pandemic."