TOGETHER, We Are Respected and Valued Essential School Professionals!
We are Northshore’s Special Education, LAP/Title I, and ELL Paraeducators; School Assistants; Nurses; Technology Specialists; Head Start staff; Interpreters; Campus Supervisors; and more. The 460 of us—NESPA members--- provide a variety of student support, enabling our teachers to maintain a laser-like focus on academic K-12 instruction. We focus on removing the academic, physical, and social impediments to learning, and provide instruction in reading, writing, math, computers, and more.
The majority of us are either the primary providers or provide essential---not only supplemental—income for our families. Half of us have a BA degree or higher, and 90% of us have some college. One in five of us work a 2nd job.
WE ARE PROUD OF OUR WORK, AND ARE WORKING TOGETHER FOR:
WE NEED A FAIR PAY INCREASE: Most of us start at $13.96. After we hit $16.54 (in our fifth year) it takes us ten years to get 90c more: $17.44 max in our fifteenth year. Nurses start at $24, and make $29 after 7 years--- far less than school nurses in other districts, who are paid teacher salaries. Northshore’s other employees are paid better. Custodians start at over $1 higher than Paraeducators. Bus drivers start at over $4 higher. Office substitutes with no experience start at over $2.50 higher. Their salaries are well-deserved, and illustrate the inequity of our pay.
A living wage (what it would take for a parent and teen to live on a very low budget in the Northshore area) is about $24.50 per hour, full time. We received no 4.2% COLA this year and no increase is scheduled for next year. We need a fair pay increase.
In addition, Northshore needs a system to determine the pay for each job title in relation to others. And a way to compensate staff for the additional work and stress caused by student overloads—as certificated staff receive.
THE 20 HOUR PER WEEK “CEILING” IS UNFAIR & NEEDS TO END : About half of us work 4 hours or less—up to 20 hours weekly—and for many of us, it’s not by choice. Nor does it have anything to do with the needs of our schools. The central administration has put a 20 hour per week ceiling on about half of us, in order to avoid paying us benefits. Many of us have worked for Northshore for years, but we can’t get more hours---even as other low hour employees are hired at the same school. Our incomes are limited by that, and we get no benefits. This artificial “20 Hour Ceiling” for half of NESPA needs to end. Other Districts don’t do this.
ONLY HALF OF US GET MEDICAL BENEFITS. THIS MUST CHANGE: Northshore’s “20 Hour Ceiling” means that half of us don’t get benefits---even if we’ve worked here for years, and need them. Some of us have NO insurance at all. For many of us, that means we work mainly to buy insurance, either in the individual market or thru our spouses’ employment. Northshore’s custodians, bus drivers, bus mechanics, and grounds crew are ALL guaranteed sufficient hours to receive full benefits, as they rightfully deserve. The few teachers and administrators who work part time do so by choice, with rare exceptions. Few office staff are required to work part time. Don’t the 460 support professionals who work directly with our students deserve the same?
OUR JOB SECURITY IS INADEQUATE: 52 Special Education Paraeducators who serve students as “One-on-Ones” have little job security if their student leaves or no longer requires this support---even if they have worked for years. They have no rights to a recall after termination. 28 School Assistants face possible cuts in hours each year---even if the needs of the school for a crossing guard, lunch/recess supervision, etc remain the same. Each year, many Special Ed Paras face hours that go up and down from 4 to 6.5 hours per day, depending on enrollment---and can lose benefits as well as hours. In a layoff, NESPA members have rights to recall from a layoff for only 1 year, while teachers have recall rights for 3 years.
WE NEED THE TOOLS AND SUPPORT TO DO OUR WORK WELL: This includes adequate time to serve our students, professional development to improve our skills, and no further cuts to nursing hours. In addition, we need appropriate computers. Many of us are working inefficiently on castoff computers that receive no Tech Dept. support.
