South Portland’s ed tech shortage is impacting classrooms
Anna Shedd liked to sit on her couch when she got home from work.
No television blaring. No book in hand. Just quiet.
It was all she had energy for before tackling the realities of motherhood after a long day as an educational technician in a special education classroom at Helena H. Dyer Elementary School in South Portland.
Many days at work, Shedd skipped lunch — what she described as her 20 minutes of silence — because there weren’t enough staff members to cover her.
Sometimes she came home with bruises and bite marks. She was hit, spit on and kicked by students, and was regularly tasked with deescalating aggressive outbursts, such as thrown chairs and toys, without enough support.
South Portland’s schools have a shortage of ed techs, or support staff often found in special education classrooms, after 13 positions were cut in the budget, and the district is still struggling to fill seven vacancies.
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The district budgeted to start the school year with 116 ed techs, a 10% reduction from the 129 who served last year, according to South Portland Superintendent Angela Atkinson Duina. She estimated in late October the district currently has 113 ed techs.
When staffing falls short in specialized classrooms, students’ individualized education plans aren’t met, small behavioral issues go unnoticed until they become major disruptions, and overwhelmed staff members burn out, according to Jen Cooper, president of the union for Portland Public Schools support staff.
A few weeks ago, Shedd resigned, even though she loved her job and the students who often made her laugh.
Over the three years she worked at Dyer Elementary, more than 15 ed techs and two lead teachers cycled through her classroom. She was the only one who returned each year.
This year, her classroom had 11 students — the maximum capacity — and was regularly staffed with one teacher and three or four ed techs. Six ed techs is recommended, she said.
“I just needed a break,” she said.
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She’s still substitute teaching in South Portland as a one-on-one aid with a student. It’s been liberating to control when and where she wants to work, she said, and to have more energy to spend with her kids.
The South Portland Education Support Professionals Association — the bargaining unit representing ed techs, clerks and office managers — presented the district with a side contract last month, arguing that the staff shortage caused a change in working conditions (SPESPA agreed to a contract last winter that extends through 2028). The union requested more compensation for ed techs who are managing higher workloads and clear guidelines for out-of-district workers who could be brought in to fill vacancies.
SPESPA has applied for a mediator through the Maine Labor Relations Board, escalating the negotiation process, according to Connie DiSanto, the union president.
CONSEQUENCES
All entry-level educational technician positions were eliminated during the most recent budget season, as were a couple of higher-level ed tech positions.
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DiSanto tried to warn the district that the cuts ran too deep, beyond just her bargaining unit.
At meetings all spring, she carried a piece of paper that showed more than 10 eliminated teacher positions highlighted in neon yellow, including positions that directly worked with special education students, such as occupational therapists. She warned that the impact would ripple, and there would be dangerous consequences.
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DiSanto’s classroom at Frank I. Brown Elementary School has one lead teacher and two ed techs, and a full classroom of students after the closure of James O. Kaler Elementary. Ideally there would be twice that many support staff in a classroom with 11 students, depending on student need, she said.
“I was told there was a plan and to trust the plan,” she said.
She said she’s been punched, slapped and spit on this school year. She’s filed three dangerous behavior reports since school started, documenting times when a student was at risk of hurting themselves or others. She would have reported more, she said, but didn’t have time.
FILLING THE VACANCIES
The district reached out to the union last month about using staffing agencies to temporarily fill the vacancies.
Other recruitment efforts haven’t been fruitful, Atkinson Duina said, including using Indeed or social media to encourage people to apply. There are still five posted vacant positions on the school department’s website.
“We should look at all the strategies that get people in,” Atkinson Duina said.
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While the union wasn’t opposed to hiring temporary staff, it wanted protections for union members, like a clear timeframe for how long the temporary workers would serve and for the district to be directly involved in the interview process.
“We want our employees to be safe, but we also don’t want there to be other people doing the same thing — and the district is paying them more,” DiSanto said.
Temporary workers undergo a different hiring process than district employees, and are not subject to a background search through the state education department. They are also often paid more per hour. For instance, an ed tech position in Brunswick posted on Amergis, a temporary employment agency, offers $30 per hour for 31 weeks. The base salary for a district employee in that position is $23.76.
A couple of years ago, education technicians across the state lobbied for a higher minimum wage for ed techs, at least 125% higher than the state minimum. (The state minimum wage for the year was set at $15.10, making the minimum hourly ed tech compensation $18.88.) However, that still wouldn’t keep pace with the rising cost of living.
Last school year, the average salary for ed techs across the state was $32,191, below the ALICE threshold, a metric to describe households that earn more than the federal poverty level but still struggle to afford basic necessities like housing, food and healthcare.
The cost of relying on temporary labor to fill school vacancies can add up. In addition to paying hourly wages for the temporary worker, the school district also pays for the recruitment service.
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Portland Public Schools spent $2.4 million more than budgeted on contracted services, which includes outside support for special education in areas such as speech and occupational therapy. The district is now implementing a hiring freeze, reducing staff positions and asking for 1.25% in nonpersonnel budget cuts.
Portland superintendent Ryan Scallon said he would have much rather hired district employees to fill vacant positions, but that there simply weren’t enough applicants. As of last month, there were nearly 30 open ed tech positions, according to Cooper.
Over the summer, South Portland’s director of special education conducted 50 interviews for ed tech positions, according to Atkinson Duina. There were still seven vacancies at the start of the school year, she said.
The number of ed techs in South Portland has declined over the past 10 years, according to Department of Education staffing data. In the 2017-18 school year, there were 133.3 full time equivalent positions. This school year, there are 113, Atkinson Duina estimates.
There’s usually ed tech turnover in the summer, DiSanto said. Some earn different certifications and become teachers. Others leave education altogether. And some go to nearby districts with higher pay.
A South Portland ed tech recently approached DiSanto, sharing that she would make $4 more per hour more if she worked in Scarborough. The base hourly rate for South Portland ed techs is $21.10. For Scarborough, the base for ed tech II and III is $22.33 and $23.92 respectively, before a $2 differential for working in the most challenging special education classrooms. South Portland doesn’t have such a differential.
“Why am I staying here?” DiSanto remembered the teacher asking. “I said ‘I can’t tell you what to do.’”
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Tagged: South Portland Schools, special education, teachers
Dana Richie is a community reporter covering South Portland and Cape Elizabeth. Originally from Atlanta, she fell in love with the landscape and quirks of coastal New England while completing her undergraduate. More by Dana Richie
