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FARMINGTON, Utah (AP) -- The Davis School District has increased its requirements for substitute teachers.
Applicants now much have a bachelor's degree or a Utah teaching license or must complete a training course.
Mel Miles, the district's human resources director, said that with the lagging economy and loss of jobs, the district has more applicants and can be pickier about who is in its classrooms.
"We thought we would take advantage of it," Miles said. "We're frankly very happy to be in this position.
"We hope it keeps up, but we're not naive enough to believe the economy getting better won't affect our pool of applicants," Miles said.
The Ogden and Salt Lake school districts require just a high school diploma, but they offer more pay for those who are licensed teachers. The Ogden School District pays substitutes $54 a day to start, with $60 a day for a licensed teacher.
The Jordan School District requires substitutes have about 48 semester hours of college credit and attend a two-hour orientation.
"We're willing to pay more to get more experience," district spokeswoman Melinda Colton said.
Jordan pays a licensed teacher $64 a day, but will pay a retired teacher $90.
Weber School District spokesman Nate Taggart said his district realized it could also be pickier about two years ago. It still uses non-certified substitute teachers in the classrooms, but the district now only accepts applications from certified teachers.
"We're just not accepting applications from people off the street," he said. "We have so many people who want to be substitute teachers."
Steve Baker, a human resources specialist for Davis School District, said the district receives between 10 and 12 applicants a week, adding to the pool of more than 1,000 substitute applicants.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
