Many school districts have struggled with staffing their schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Waterloo schools have gotten around this by paying their substitute teachers a higher premium, according to the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Positive cases and close contacts has meant many teachers have had to be away from their classrooms for a significant amount of time, leaving the task up to substitutes. Prior to this year they were paid $130 per day in the Waterloo district, but that total has been upped to $200 a day, enticing a larger number of substitutes to fill the role. The school district says they see this as a short term fix to the issue.
