For administrators in the Oak Harbor School District, summer isn’t a time for rest and relaxation.

The district’s human resources department, led by Executive Director Kurt Schonberg, will be hard at work.  With about 130 possible substitutes currently in a pool the district can draw on, Schonberg said he wants to hire about 30 more.

“I think if we got around 160 subs, I think that would probably meet our needs,” Schonberg said.

Many of the substitutes already employed by the district “have limited amounts of time they can work, limited amounts of assignments they can work,” he said.

These restrictions mean that when 40-50 substitutes are needed on a single day, the district will “start running low,” he said.

It’s particularly difficult in cold and flu seasons. When teachers get sick, substitutes also can get sick from working in the same environment, or their children will be sick, making it so they have to stay home to care for them.

“Generally, we post and keep interviewing all year long,” Schonberg said, “because this community has a higher degree of mobility than some.”

Because Navy personnel and their families are constantly relocating to Oak Harbor, there are always opportunities to hire new substitutes.

Substitutes are at-will employees, which means that they don’t have to accept every request to fill in, and the district doesn’t have to have them work every day, Schonberg said.

That substitution is a great way for people to get their foot in the door of the school district, he said.

“We’re also interested in people that are interested in teaching as a profession,” Schonberg said.

For substitute teachers, the district looks for “the ability to work directly with students and build relationships with students,” as well as steady, energetic substitutes with good judgment.

Oftentimes, substitutes can be considered for permanent positions when they open up within the district, he said.

The teaching staff isn’t the only area short on substitutes. Schonberg said there’s also a need for substitutes in the custodial, food service, transportation, paraeducators, clerical and more departments throughout the district.

While substitute teachers are required to have certification, other substitutes don’t necessarily have to. Some do, such as the food service workers needing their food handler’s license, a $10, online process, much of the required training is offered on the job.

To apply for a substitution job with the school district, applicant should to go to www.ohsd.net/Page/79 for job postings, which have online applications to fill out.

After that, interviews will be held with Schonberg.

“I will have continuous interviews all year long, like monthly, for subs.”