Cleveland Metropolitan School District paraprofessionals, commonly known as teacher aides, are seeking better pay, speaking out regularly during the public comment portion of CMSD Board of Education meetings since last summer.
The paraprofessionals' advocacy comes ahead of a time when the school district and the Cleveland Teachers Union – paraprofessionals are a union position – will be negotiating a new contract later this year and as the school district is forecasting a deficit in the next fiscal year.
Sherry McCutcheon, a paraprofessional at Newton D. Baker School of the Arts who has worked at CMSD since 2011, spoke out during a board of education meeting in December 2023. She described her position in a subsequent interview as challenging but rewarding, a job that revolves around supporting the teacher and students in the classroom.
“I'm the one… that takes the kids and goes to lunch, or goes to the recess, or takes the child for a walk that needs to calm down, I am on from the minute I'm on till the minute I'm out,” she said.
McCutcheon said it can be a tough and sometimes dirty job, helping students with behavioral problems or changing their clothes if they wet their pants. She earns about $36,000 after working 12 years at the district, but for the first nine years or so she was earning less than $30,000. She said she’s worked a night job that entire time to ensure she's able to make ends meet and also frequently works lunch duty, meaning she won't get a break during her paraprofessional job.
Shari Obrenski, president of the Cleveland Teachers Union, said the union backs the district’s roughly 750 to 800 paraprofessionals in their demand for higher wages. She said some progress has been made in recent years to raise their wages through the union contract, but it remains universally a low-paid, underappreciated job, often done by women, many who are women of color. She agreed that it is a tough job, noting teacher aides sometimes get hit or are even bitten by students who are are acting out.
“We are going to have to make their pay not just competitive with other para(professional) positions, but competitive in terms of other positions, period,” Obrenski said. “If they can go to Amazon and make more money, then we're going to lose them.”
Obrenski said CMSD paraprofessionals’ pay is comparable to other schools in large urban schools in Ohio. Lisa Riley, a paraprofessional at the preschool at Garfield School, said during a late October 2023 Board of Education meeting that the starting salary is $28,000.
“Anything under $35,000 a year in Cuyahoga County is considered the poverty level, and a single mother with only one child qualifies for food stamps at $32,000 a year,” she told the board. “I know most of you are not the people in charge of the contract negotiations, but we are desperate to shine a spotlight… after passing yet another recent levy and helping to fight so hard for that, how can we continue to pay full time employees these poverty wages?”
Candice Grose, CMSD’s communications officer, declined to comment for this story.
CMSD CEO Warren Morgan and Board Chair Sara Elaqad shared a written statement in response to paraprofessionals who spoke out during the public comment section of recent board of education meetings. They thanked the employees for bringing their concerns to light, according to the statement shared in the Dec. 12 meeting agenda.
“We appreciate all that you do to contribute to students’ success in a classroom and school environment and while we cannot make any salary changes at this time due to negotiated contract, we look forward (to) exploring options as part of the contract process with your union,” Morgan and Elaqad wrote.
Lakisha Tuggle, a 24-year CMSD employee and school nurse, said during the CMSD Board of Education’s Nov. 21 meeting that paraprofessionals should be paid for extra work they do – things like being pulled into another classroom to help out in addition to their usual duties.
"These positions are the hardest to fill, and the turnover rate is ongoing and astronomically high,” she said. “With that said, our paraprofessionals across the district are being overwhelmed and over-utilized daily. Day in and day out, para (professionals) are constantly being pulled to do favors and to take one for the team on behalf of the district, in addition to performing their own jobs.”
She said a change in contract language, which would allow for compensation for that extra work, could help the district retain people in these positions.
