JAY - The School Committee voted unanimously Thursday to increase substitute teacher pay by $5 a day, effective immediately.

The new rate is $55 a day for a substitute with no college degree, $60 for a two-plus-year degree, and $65 for a bachelor's degree.

Superintendent Robert Wall told the board the pay rate likely had not been raised in more than 10 years. It is important to get good substitutes, he said, and he expected the increase to help.

Other school districts have been paying substitute teachers more, he said. At times it has been difficult to get substitutes, Jay Elementary School Principal Christopher Hollingsworth said.

The per-day pay for long-term substitute teachers stayed at $80 for a two-plus-year degree, $105 for a bachelor's degree, and $167.45 for a certified teacher.

The rate for education technician substitutes remained at $50 per day and $25 for a half-day of 3.5 hours or less.

The rate for a food service substitute was increased by 18 cents to $8 an hour.

The substitute custodian pay rate was increased by 23 cents to $11 an hour; substitute bus drivers increased 23 cents to $13 per hour.

Other business, Wall told the board the regional school planning committee's work on a new regional school unit with the towns of Jay, Livermore and Livermore Falls was progressing in a positive way. An all-day workshop on the matter is scheduled for Saturday.