Nationwide, schools are having a hard time locating goodsubstitute teachers for their classes, and some area schools arefeeling the same crunch.

While Lincoln County schools and Brookhaven Academy say there isalways a need for more qualified substitutes, the Brookhaven Cityschools are reporting a stable flow of good substituteteachers.

“It’s never true that we have an overabundance, but we’re not inthe pinch that some districts are,” said Brookhaven Superintendentof Schools Lea Barrett. “We’re reasonably fortunate, in that wehave some retired teachers that are willing to come back and afairly stable list, some of whom are ex-teachers who are raisingkids. Of course I’m not closing the door to anyone that would beinterested.”

But, said Lincoln County Superintendent of Schools TerryBrister, while the county is not having trouble takingapplications, it is hard to find substitutes who are available anddependable.

“They’re fine about coming in and signing up but when you needthem they’re hard to get,” he said. “A good substitute is one whowhen you call on them they’re there. We’ve got some great ones, butwe also have a shortage of people we can count on.”

Brister said part of the problem revolves around the unsurety ofthe job hours, and that it’s hard to find people who are availableduring the day.

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