PROVIDENCE — More than 70 long-term substitute teachers will not be recalled this fall unless the Providence Teachers Union agrees to a compromise plan that calls for rehiring the substitutes at a lower salary.

Long-term substitutes typically receive layoff notices in late February or early March, before a dead-line set by state law, but the notices usually are rescinded over the summer after the school budget has been approved by the School Board and the City Council.

Last month, however, about 75 long-term substitutes began hearing rumors that they wouldn’t be recalled if they were on step 5 or higher on the 10-step salary scale. Substitutes with considerable seniority were furious because they weren’t notified sooner, while others were upset that substitutes with much less teaching experience were rehired instead of them.

Long-term substitutes are paid union-scale salaries and receive full medical benefits. Many of them have been teaching in the district for years and have come to depend on the work. While some substitutes move from one classroom to another, others fill in for teachers who are out on year-long maternity leaves or sabbaticals.

At an Aug. 22 meeting, the Providence Teachers Union told long-term subs that they had a choice: all substitutes with more than four years of teaching experience would lose their jobs or the teachers could work for $100 per diem until a new contract is ratified.

According to the union’s Web site, once a contract is approved, the substitutes would receive retroactive salaries equal to the difference between the per-diem sum and the fourth-step salary.

“At this time, the Providence School Department is prepared to offer [long-term substitutes] who have not been recalled . . . the opportunity to begin substituting next week at the per diem rate of $100,” a letter from the union leadership says. “Once the tentative agreement is ratified by all parties [the School Board, membership and City Council], substitute teachers serving per-diems will be appointed as [long-term substitutes] retroactive to his or her first day of work.”

Yesterday, representatives from the school district’s human resources department began asking substitutes if they wanted to return on a per-diem basis, according to a letter from union leadership posted on the union’s Web site.

Both the union and the school administration have been tight-lipped about the issue, citing the confidentiality of contract negotiations. Steve Smith, union president, confirmed that the fate of long-term substitutes has been part of ongoing contract negotiations with Supt. Tom Brady, and that the union met with the substitutes on Aug. 22.

Although Smith said he appreciates the substitutes’ frustration, he stressed that there are no recall rights for substitutes in the existing contract; substitutes can’t assume that they have job security.

“When a long-term sub is hired, he or she receives a one-year appointment,” Smith said yesterday. “The district never agrees to more than that.”

According to Smith, the union is trying to work out a settlement that protects the pool of substitutes. He would not disclose details of the proposed compromise.

School spokeswoman Kim Rose confirmed that the department is recalling some long-term substitutes at a per diem rate of $100, but declined to say anything further about the proposed agreement:

“At this point, we’re in negotiations, so I can’t confirm anything,” she said. “But we are making the educational needs of students our top priority.”

Ann Morin, a long-term substitute and an elementary school teacher, has 36 years of experience in the classroom and was hired by the district in February 2006.

Under the proposed agreement, Morin would take a 34-percent pay cut, earning $44,275 a year instead of $67,000.

“This is frustrating and demoralizing,” Morin said. “It’s a waste. I’m a great teacher and here I am, sitting on the shelf. Some of the subs are the breadwinners in their families and this is what they will be making? One hundred dollars a day?”

Meanwhile, Morin and other substitutes say they are scrambling to find teaching jobs long after most districts have hired their staff.

“I want my own room,” she said. “I want to teach. This is what I do, and my career is on hold.”

lborg@projo.com