If you love kids and have a little extra time on your hands, Christy Stocker might have a job for you. As principal of West Marin and Inverness Schools, Ms. Stocker is finding it increasingly difficult to hire substitute teachers, even as the need has grown in the aftermath of the pandemic. It’s not too difficult to get registered as a substitute—assuming you have a bachelor’s degree and a clean record. The Marin County Office of Education has a handy online application packet that walks potential recruits through the process. Most schools in West Marin have a small roster of subs, but those folks can’t always show up on short notice. When they aren’t available, the schools rely on a pool of people who are registered with the education office. But most of them live on the east side of Marin and are reluctant to come over the hill. “It’s really hard to get people to come out to West Marin from the rest of the world,” Ms. Stocker said. “We’re perceived as far away. It’s a long drive and the curvy roads intimidate people.” Nicasio and Lagunitas Schools sometimes face similar challenges. “Unfortunately, many substitutes prefer to take assignments closer to home, which can make it more difficult to fill positions here,” said Jenelle Ferhart, principal of the Lagunitas School District. One day last week, Ms. Stocker found herself scrambling to find subs for both West Marin and Inverness Schools. Nobody was available. “We end up having to pull people from other jobs they do on campus and improvise the best we can,” she said. “It creates a lot of last-minute changes, and it’s not an ideal situation for our students or our staff.” She sometimes pulls teaching assistants from one class to substitute teach in another, but that can create new problems. “It puts a strain on the teacher whose class they’re being pulled from, who has already built their daily lesson plans with the idea in mind that they had this extra set of hands,” Ms. Stocker said. Dina Warren, the language lab teacher for the two schools, began her teaching career as a substitute and thinks it’s a great way to launch a career or contribute to the community in retirement. “The teachers here are wonderful, and they leave very easy-to-understand lesson plans for their substitutes,” she said. For more information about substituting, see https://tinyurl.com/MarinSubstitute