An outside company will now provide Pleasant Valley School District with substitute teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries and custodians.

The school board approved a contract with ESS Northeast LLC in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, for the company to provide substitute staff whenever the school district needs one.

According to the contract, ESS will be the sole provider of substitute staff for the school district. The district will provide ESS with a list of substitute staff who have worked for the school district in the past and a list of substitute staff that have been provided by another vendor.

Substitute teachers will be employed by ESS, not the school district. This means that ESS will pay them and handle tax withholdings, etc. They will not be eligible for tenure with the district or entitled to benefits, pension, holiday pay, etc.

“Is there going to be a savings to us by using this?” school board President Susan Kresge asked business manager Michael Simonetta.

“Yes,” Simonetta said. “They’re charging a 30% premium over our current rates, but what we pay for substitutes when you add in PSERS (Public School Employees’ Retirement System) and other Social Security, taxes and other stuff, you budget for anywhere from 35 to 40%, and so there will be a savings. When you talk about the amount of money, I can always do a projection on the dollar amount, but when you talk about the amount of money over the year for substitute costs, that 5 to 10% difference will be significant.”

The school district has agreed to pay ESS the following:

• Substitute teacher (daily rate/full day) - $209.60; employee pay rate is $160.

• Substitute teacher (daily rate/half day) - $104.80; employee pay rate is $80.

• Substitute paraprofessional (full day) - $108.08; employee pay rate is $82.50.

• Substitute paraprofessional (half day) - $54.04; employee pay rate is $41.25.

• Substitute paraprofessional (hourly) - $14.41; employee pay rate is $11.

• Substitute secretary (full day) - $107.59; employee pay rate is $82.13.

• Substitute secretary (half day) - $53.80; employee pay rate is $41.07.

• Substitute secretary (hourly) - $15.03; employee pay rate is $11.47.

• 1 - Substitute custodian (hourly) - $13.60; employee pay rate is $10.38.

• 2 - Substitute custodian (hourly) - $14.06; employee pay rate is $10.73.

• 3 - Substitute custodian (hourly) - $14.19; employee pay rate is $10.83.

The contract will run from July 1 to June 30, 2024, and will automatically renew yearly for four years.

The motion passed unanimously. Director Michael Galler was absent.

In a 6-2 vote, the school board also approved hiring two deans of students: one for the middle school and one for the high school. Todd Kresge and Delbert Zacharias voted against it.

Superintendent James Konrad said these employees will focus on academic achievement and assist in security.

“I still think you get more bang for your buck if you hire an assistant principal,” Kresge said.

The middle school and high school both have assistant principals. There was some consideration in hiring a second assistant principal at each.

“There is funding already built in for one of the positions,” Konrad said.