ESS reports higher substitute fill rates; trustees press for cost details
March 13, 2026 | School City of East Chicago, School Boards, Indiana
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Becky Sapples, senior vice president of operations for ESS, told the School City of East Chicago Board of Trustees that the district’s contract with ESS (go‑live Oct. 27) has produced a sharp uptick in substitute placements. "We finished February at an 81% fill rate, which compared to 43% fill rate last year," Sapples said, and she added ESS has hired about 60 substitutes to date, including 26 who were district originals.
Sapples described recruiting and retention strategies ESS used locally—regular pay Fridays, referral bonuses, monthly and local raffles and targeted bilingual recruitment—and said ESS covers payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and frontline absence-management costs under the contract. She said some of the substitute pool is drawn from neighboring districts ESS serves and that the company can provide an accounting of billed amounts since Oct. 27 on request.
Trustees pressed for financial detail. One trustee asked for a year‑over‑year cost comparison and "what the cost increase is" from year one to year two; Sapples said ESS can have accounting produce a report of what has been billed since the partnership began and that the district’s payroll supervisor also tracks the number of substitutes used. A separate trustee asked about bilingual coverage; Sapples said ESS recruits in both Spanish and English and that bilingual substitutes exist but are not always immediately available.
Board members also questioned how the district communicates unfilled assignments to schools and what happens when a position cannot be filled. Sapples said local account managers check absence-management systems each morning, attempt texts and calls, and when a placement is not found schools activate existing internal plans (using planning periods, splitting classes or other coverage) as a "plan B." She said ESS will notify administrators if a substitute is delayed.
The board did not take action on the ESS presentation; trustees requested a side‑by‑side billing report from ESS and the district’s business office to compare what was billed and to confirm whether total costs are in line with prior years. The district will circulate that data to trustees when available.
Sapples described recruiting and retention strategies ESS used locally—regular pay Fridays, referral bonuses, monthly and local raffles and targeted bilingual recruitment—and said ESS covers payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and frontline absence-management costs under the contract. She said some of the substitute pool is drawn from neighboring districts ESS serves and that the company can provide an accounting of billed amounts since Oct. 27 on request.
Trustees pressed for financial detail. One trustee asked for a year‑over‑year cost comparison and "what the cost increase is" from year one to year two; Sapples said ESS can have accounting produce a report of what has been billed since the partnership began and that the district’s payroll supervisor also tracks the number of substitutes used. A separate trustee asked about bilingual coverage; Sapples said ESS recruits in both Spanish and English and that bilingual substitutes exist but are not always immediately available.
Board members also questioned how the district communicates unfilled assignments to schools and what happens when a position cannot be filled. Sapples said local account managers check absence-management systems each morning, attempt texts and calls, and when a placement is not found schools activate existing internal plans (using planning periods, splitting classes or other coverage) as a "plan B." She said ESS will notify administrators if a substitute is delayed.
The board did not take action on the ESS presentation; trustees requested a side‑by‑side billing report from ESS and the district’s business office to compare what was billed and to confirm whether total costs are in line with prior years. The district will circulate that data to trustees when available.
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