PORT ANGELES — A standing-room crowd of more than 100 paraeducators and their supporters filled a Port Angeles School District meeting to press the board for a 3.7 percent pay increase, remuneration for advanced degrees and better longevity compensation.
During the nearly hour-long public comment period Thursday night, paraeducators described the rewards and challenges of working with students, many of whom have severe behavioral and emotional disorders. They recounted being kicked, punched, pushed, spit and urinated on, and cursed at.
Teachers who spoke said they would be unable to do their jobs without the assistance of paraeducators, who do everything from instruction in reading and writing to managing violent student outbursts.
Paraeducators have been working without a contract since Aug. 31 as their union and the district have failed to reach an agreement over a contract. The district has acknowledged the importance of paraeducators’ work but has said it cannot meet their demands because of inadequate funding from the state.
The district and PAPEA negotiating teams are scheduled to bargain next week with a mediator from the Washington State Public Employment Relations Commission. The PAPEA membership in February voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike on April 8 if a deal can’t be reached.
The main sticking point has been the paraeducators’ demand for the same 3.7 percent pay raise the district and the Port Angeles Education Association representing teachers and counselors agreed to in September. The increase was based on the implicit price deflator (IDP) the state Legislature set during its 2023 regular session.
Lucy Wait said she resigned as a paraeducator in 2018 because her monthly take-home pay would barely cover daycare for her daughter while she worked, and it wasn’t enough to feed her large family.
“I would love to come back, but what am I coming back to?” Wait said. “I just want to be equally compensated for my hard work.”
Teacher Mary Krzysiak invited the board to visit her Dry Creek Elementary School classroom so they could observe first-hand the breadth of tasks paraeducators have to do and the irreplaceable assistance they provide.
“Twelve out of my 20 students rely on these amazing para support personnel to be able to get closer and closer to grade level so they can succeed in the following years,” Krzysiak said. “I have a one-on-one support person for a student who is deaf. In addition to providing academics to this student, she greets kids at the buses at 7:25 every day, she keeps them safe and in line in the cold, in the rain, in the snow, and she works both recesses.”
Krzysiak said the paraeducator also protected her from being injured during a field trip when Krzysiak was restraining a student.
“If we don’t take care of these teachers the way they take care of us and our students, I shudder to think of what will happen to our community,” Krzysiak said.
A number of speakers pointed to the growing number of students in the district — now nearly 20 percent of enrollment — who qualify for special education services as one reason for increasing compensation.
“I’ve been a teacher for over 30 years and I’ve seen a lot of changes,” Jerry Papers said. “I used to have maybe one student that needed additional help in a classroom of 30 students, now it’s four or five. Paras make those personal relationships, not only in the classroom but outside during those high-energy times. They are doing incredible work.”
Also at the meeting, Rachel Summers, the director of Special Services, outlined to the board the process for assessing students for special education services. She said it starts with a student assistance team — which might include a parent, classroom teacher, school psychologist or counselor, or education specialist — that meets to discuss possible interventions for students struggling with learning, emotional or behavioral issues.
At follow-up meetings, the team reviews information about the student’s progress and response to interventions designed for them. If the interventions are not effective, she said, the student might be evaluated for special education. The district’s multi-tiered approach focuses on providing students with the kind of support they need in a timely and responsive manner, Summers said.
“This process actually helps avoid over-identification of students, which is really important because we know that statistically when a student qualifies for special education that they are more likely to spend less time around same-age, non-disabled peers and receive less access to their general education curriculum,” Summers said.
In other district news, Rayin Blewett, a Lincoln High School senior and student representative on the board, announced she has received the student of the semester award from Soroptimist International of Port Angeles — Jet Set.
There are still spaces available on the Wednesday tour of the district’s career and technical education programs at Port Angeles High School. The student-led tour starts at Lincoln Center, 905 W. Ninth St., at 9:30 a.m. A bus will provide transportation and lunch will be served at the Wildcat Cafe, part of a new CTE hospitality program at Lincoln High School. To RSVP, call 360-457-8575.
The grand prize winner of the Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge held March 14 at Lincoln Center was Sophia Gallegos from Jefferson Elementary for her Chicken Salad a la Mexicana. Ten finalists were chosen from the 18 students from across the district who submitted recipes. The prepared items were judged on originality, taste, kid friendliness and use of healthy ingredients.
The other winners were:
• Originality: Sydney Fellin, santorini chop salad, Dry Creek Elementary School
• Easy preparation: Cohen Newlon, lemon parmesan kale salad, Hamilton Elementary School
• Healthy attributes: William Nesberg, strong people (S’Klallam) protein bowl, Dry Creek Elementary School
• Kid friendly: Sienna Fellin, Sienna’s scrumptious fruit salad, Roosevelt Elementary School
• Plate presentation and appearance: Gabriel Shiepko, seafood salad, Hamilton Elementary School
• Best taste: Logan Wasnock, Logan’s crunchy salad, Jefferson Elementary School
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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.
Lucy Wait, a former paraeducator with the Port Angele School District, speaks at Thursday’s board meeting during which she said she had to quit a job she loved because of the low pay. More than 100 educators filled a room at the district’s headquarters to show their support for paraeducators, who are seeking a 3.7 percent pay raise and have been working without a contract since Aug. 31. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
