The shortfall comes as regular teachers are spending an increasing amount of time outside the classroom receiving further training, Miller said.
Many regular teachers are new to their profession.
For example, a recent Washington Post survey suggests that nearly 11 percent of the new hires in Prince George's in the 1999-2000 school year were novices. But even experienced teachers are required to get regular training every year. The Post's survey, to which 144 of the county's 186 schools replied, showed that students in Prince George's are taught by substitutes an average of two weeks of the school year, about the same as the rest of the region. But in some schools in Prince George's, that figure is as high as five weeks. It can truly harm children when the curriculum is not covered.