The Grand Forks School Board has declared a critical shortage in hiring of paraeducators for the current year. At last count the district has about 90 openings – with every school reporting unfilled positions.
Business Manager Brandon Baumbach says paraeducators help the district meet state and federal regulatory requirements as well as support students with disabilities in the educational setting. “Both our special education and general education teachers are stretched with providing students with what they need. Teachers are losing prep time and lunch time…and sometimes both.”
In order to attract more candidates the district is bumping the hourly wage by one-dollar – with a cap of $500 dollars per employee per semester. Baumbach says it will impact the bottom line. “The anticipated budget impact is between an additional $146,000 and $186,000 in potential wages per semester. If we were to continue with the open positions over the course of the year we could be under budget just north of $2 million dollars.”
Superintendent Terry Brenner says the district is currently undergoing a peer review salary study that could prove helpful down the road. “$19 dollars an hour at a place where I get pet food…starting…we know what we are competing against.”
The bump in pay is only for the current school year. The salary package will be a part of larger negotiations prior to the 2023-24 school year.
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