BIDDEFORD — The School Committee on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve pay raises for substitute teachers, at a time when school officials say substitutes are hard to find.

School Superintendent Jeremy Ray said the pool for substitute teachers is extremely limited and an increase in pay for substitutes in Biddeford schools is necessary to fall in line with the rates of surrounding districts.

“This is not just a Biddeford situation. It’s in every (district) in southern Maine,” Ray said. “Our sub rates for the area were a bit off.”

The committee approved a rate of $75 per day for substitutes who are not certified teachers and a pay of $85 per day for substitutes who are either Maine certified teachers or retired teachers.

Previously, rates for noncertified teachers ranged between $50 and $65 per day, and the rate for certified or retired teachers was $70 per day.

Ray said the increases would keep the district competitive at a time when substitutes are needed.

“There are days when we’re down a handful of subs so we have to scramble sometimes,” Ray said.