DOVER, Del.- While Gov. John Carney has proposed a 9 percent salary increase for teachers, it remains unclear whether this raise will extend to education support professionals such as custodians and lunch service employees.
School support staff employees made their case during a recent joint finance meeting, pushing legislators to recognize their important role in Delaware schools.
The State Education Association agrees that school support staff deserves higher pay, especially after taking on extra work during the pandemic.
"They had to learn new processes to follow to adhere to CDC regulations, and a lot of those processes have stayed, and the additional responsibilities have not gone away," said Taylor Hawk, Director of Legislative and Political Strategy.
Nancy Simpson, a custodian in the Caesar Rodney School District, loves her job but wishes that the state of Delaware would recognize the work her team puts in. "Why are we always at the bottom? And within the state, why is it that everyone else can get elevated but the people who are running these buildings, keeping them functioning and up and going, we are still in the mud? It makes no sense," Simpson said.
Josette Threatts, a para-professional, echoes similar concerns.
She emphasizes that her job is no less difficult than that of a teacher. "If they looked and walked in our shoes for a day, from the moment we walked in the building to the moment we walked out - and none of us walk out on time - they will see that we are putting in as much time if not more sometimes."
Despite the uphill battle, education support professionals remain hopeful that they will receive the recognition and raise they deserve.
Gov. Carney's budget proposal does include a 3 percent salary increase for all education employees, but support staff are pushing for that extra 6 percent.
