Wages

Hi Sue, Here in Utah, each district's pay scale differs for paraeducators and support staff. For fun, I checked the salaries of several school districts I've associated with over the years. :arrow: Salt Lake City (Jordan School District) Paraeducator = $8.05 to 10.76 Food service = $8.05 (starting) Custodial = $9.08 (starting) :arrow: Las Vegas, NV (Clark County School District) Paraeducator = $9.83 to 13.83 Food service = $9.36 to 13.18 Custodial = $10.84 to 15.25 :arrow: Boise, Idaho Paraeducator = $7.39 to 14.78 Food service = $8.20 (starting) Custodial = $7.70 (starting) Douglas

Thank you Douglas for the quick reply! Hopefully we'll get information from all over the states. P

This is my second year as a certified Para in Louisiana I get 10,200.00 before taxes. I also have all benifits and get paid 12 months of the year.

Hi everyone - I'm new to the site and think that this is great!!

As far as the discussion on wages, I started as a para at a local elementary school here in Colorado about 2 months ago and I am earning $9.42 per hour. We pay into PERA (at 8%) but receive COLA adjustments and a small percentage increase after a 90 day evaluation etc., Benefits are offered but are a little expensive although we do accrue paid sick days and personal days and certain paid holidays. No pay however over the vacation periods!!

It's interesting to see the varying wages offered to us when we are all working in the same industry and basically doing the same job!!

###UPDATE###
I have now been in my school district for 2 years and I am currently earning just over $11/hr. Frequent step raises and COLA increases have raised my wages nicely - hopefully more to come...

I came a cross a couple of good blog postings on paraeducator wages that I wanted to pass on:
Para Pay and Paraprofessionals: Higher Standards, Higher Pay?.

I'm a teacher's aide in Western PA. The district I work for doesn't offer any benefits, sick time or personal time off. We get docked for snow delays, eary dismissals and don't get paid through the summer. Cafeteria workers and janitors make at least $5.00 a hour more than we do. Currently the aides in my building have banned together and asked for a raise and a few personal days and sick days. I have been with the district for about 6 years and work 110% everyday (so do the other aides)and I feel we deserve better!! Does anyone have any information that we can use to try and get a fair wage?

I have been working as a para now for about 2 years. Before that I worked in food service where I was paid about 1500.00 less than a Para. I had been in the cafe. for 5 years! Now I make about 11000.00 a year but I have benefits coming out. So in reality I gross about 982.00 a month and have 545.00 in deductions! I am in a High School setting and I love it. I also work with the Sped. Department Head so I am very busy! We are not part of a union and I just came across this web site and like others I had no idea there was such a site!
Tonya

Can anyone tell me if they are paid for snow days and vacations? I am also curious to learn if we can qualify for any benefits during our summer months when we are misplaced from work temporarily? I have just taken on a large rent payment and am a little concerned about my financial situation come the summer etc.,

Suffolk County, NY - BOCES Para Salary about $16,000 - 180 days a year, included medical/dental benefits, sick days and personal days. Rec'd benefits and salary year round. Was able to work summer schedule for extra pay and rec'd sub pay at the rate of $75 per day. Yearly salary then became about $22K with all considerations above. Only step scale, no recognition of credits beyond AS degree, which was necessary to obtain certification. Would appreciate hearing from other Long Island Para's on other School District pay. Supposedly, the BOCES scale is based on the L.I. average. Thanks.

I have worked as a Para/Aide for 13 years in Kansas and I just now am making $9.95 an hour. I have done everything from Special Ed to lunch room help. Currently I run the grade school library and teach all library skills classes to K-6th grade. I order books, process them and do crafts and puppet shows. I do lesson plans myself and also teach the reference materials for 3rd-6th grade. Next year I will be doing Kindergarten art on top of this. I think it is crazy what a Para gets paid! Here it is less than a sub. I love working with children and feel like I do well at my job, I have 2 years of college and go to any training the district will allow. Many times I feel like finding something else to make more money.

I work as a special ed para in rural Minnesota. I have been with this school district for 19 years. I now make $13.46 per hour. We have sick leave we can accumulate up to 100 days (I am at 100 days - I know - that's crazy, but, I'm rarely sick!!). We do not get paid for snow days, we have 2 paid holidays, we have 0 personal days, we do not get paid for any in-service days and they will not spread our pay out over the summer. We were required to do the competencies as required by NCLB and believe me - our district made us work. I have a huge portfolio and spent many, many unpaid hours attending classes and completing the paperwork!!!!

does anyone know what kind of benefits and wages Boces of Steuben county in NY pay and do they pay like the schools only 10 months of the year

Hello,

In Scranton, PA. we make anywhere from $14,000.00 to $24,000.00. We are in negotiations now and hope to improve that. We have recieved our State Certifaication and Special Ed. Credentials. We take ER&D classes to keep up with the changes. We also have 16 steps to climb before getting top pay. (POVERTY). This is a contract year so we are hoping to make many changes. We finally have a union that is willing to work with us and fight for our wages. We are doing everything imaginable to better ourselves in the classroom, we even have two blue ribbon schools that Paras helped to accomplish. We have numerous Paras in our district 98 to be exact. Bilingual, Learning Support, Life Skills, Autism, Physical Disabled, Pre-School, Kindergarten and Title One. What we need to do is exchange copies of our contracts and compare them. Are many of you in a Teachers union, or a Representative?

Hey I'm new the site I'm Kane/male/25 years old. I work in the Wichita School District as a Para and I make $11.50/hr.

Highland park paraprofessional has to be lowest parapro in the united state
I can't live off this but I love work with children. I'm a special education parapro and i make $12.00 and hour I'm on the last step. I've been working for the district for 15 year I'm below proverty.

Can anyone tell me the starting salary for a school parapro in henry county ga, and the required qualifications? Thanks. Donna

Is anybody out there who is a parapro in Washington State? Whidbey Island? What is the pay in this state? I'm about to take courses to be a parapro. Please help!

Hi

I live in the UK but we are moving to PA sometime this year (Paperwork holding us up!) I'm a TA in a middle school (9-13 yrs) and I get paid for the whole 12 months, averaged out over the year so that we are paid during holiday time too. I have a speech and language qualification as well as holding literacy support groups, I also trampoline coach! I can't believe how varied the pay scale is in America, I thought we were under-valued in the UK but it seems worse in the USA!!

Hi I'm a para in the Minneapolis school district. I've been a special ed para for ten years now. Here we have a 6 step pay scale which starts at 14.00 and goes to 19.62. We get vacation time as well as sick time. Those who work at least 20 hours a week get full medical/dental. I work 78 hours every two weeks which includes riding the special ed bus with students. My bi-weekly pay check is 1531.36 Gross
After 450.00 in deductions I take home 1081.36 Net

I have been a para in NYC for 10 years. I had 30 college credits and got a little over 24k. Now i have gotten 60 credits and will earn over 28k. I get benefits, dental, medical, and get 10 sick days per year. The top salary for a para in NYC is about 34k with a Bachelor degree.

I've been working as a parapro (working with behavorial challenged autistic kids) for 5 years. The salary for Hamilton County school district is a little over $13,000 annually. Note that I have as associates degree and the pay never increases.

I asked in a prior posting if anyone knew about our entitlement to unemployment benefits during the 2.5 months we are laid off each summer. I haven't noted any response and am still curious... Any help out there??

I work in Alabama as a Spe. Ed. Para in an elementary school and this is my 10th year. I make 14,600 per year. That is for 187 days, four of those days are inservice and work days without students. Our pay is spread out so we are paid for 12 months. We can have health benefits taken out but I don't have that. I have the supplemental dental and vision care only. We earn a sick day every month and start with 5 personal days each yr. 2 are paid for but the others are not. These will roll over into sick days the next year if they are not used. After 10 years of service they pay for three personal days. As a para we are told we are not supposed to do bulletin boards, make copies or actually teach. We are to reinforce what the teacher has taught. We are not supposed to be in charge of a class by ourselves and we are not supposed to come up with the resource material for the children to use each day unless we are one on one with a child. Although most of these things we do on a daily basis anyway.

I was hired Jan. 2008 as a paraprofessional at a starting rate of $10 at a charter school in Ohio. I do have full benefits (contribute about $70 a pay for family), 50% tuition reimbursement but only 4 personal/sick days. I DO NOT get paid for any vacations, summer months, snow days, early dismissal, etc.... I wish there were a union for us parapro's to set a higher standard for wages. I do have a BA degree in English and am currently renewing my teaching certificate as well as adding a reading endorsement to my certificate. I am constantly pulled to 'substitute' and do not get any fringes or higher pay for doing so. Thanks for this site!

I am in Seneca Illinois and I am wondering how I can find out what a fair wage is for a paraprofessional. I have my certificate but have not worked as a paraprofessional yet but I have 20 years experience in pediatrics. where I worked closly with children every day and dissused treatment needs with parents daily. Also I have experience working at the front desk. When I am looking for a fair wage will this experience count when an employer considers my wage? If so does anyone know were I can type in this information and get the hourly wage that I should get?