Substitute teachers in South Whidbey schools will see more money in their wallets this year.

District officials say the pay of substitute teachers — now called “guest teachers” — will be in line with other districts. The South Whidbey Board of Education has approved a $9 raise for the district’s 75 certificated teachers, increasing substitute teachers’ pay from $91 to $100 a day.

Sixty other substitutes also work in the district, including para-educators, kitchen staff and bus drivers. The increase in pay is for the teachers only, however, and is the first in recent years. District officials say wages for the other substitutes has kept up with the union’s scale.

Superintendent Fred McCarthy initially asked for a $4 raise that would have increased the pay of substitute teachers to $95 a day. But the school board decided that $100 was more equitable.

Substitute teachers in the Coupeville School District are paid $112 per day; in Oak Harbor, it’s $124. The LaConner and Lynden districts both pay $100 per day.

“The raise gets us into a more equitable position with nearby districts,” McCarthy said.

The pay increase will cost the district about between $12,000 and $13,000 per year, depending on the number of substitutes the district needs.

The increase is effective with the 2006-07 school year, and will not pose a serious impact to the budget.

“Our budget can accommodate the increase,” McCarthy said.

Superintendent McCarthy, who has been on the job for three months, explained the switch in job titles from “substitute” to “guest.”

He said guests are usually welcomed and treated with respect.

“So now we have guest teachers and guest bus drivers,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy has also changed the name of the district office to the “service center.”

Gayle Saran can be reached at 221-5300 or gsaran@southwhidbeyrecord.com.