At Issue
ESP first targets for school budget cuts
Excuse George Jackson for believing
educational support personnel are
walking around with a bull’s eye on their
backs during these belt-tightening economic
times.
Forgive him for thinking that his ESP colleagues receive too little recognition for the part they play in the education of students.
“We seem to be the first targets when districts want to cut expenses, both at the bargaining table and with privatization attempts,” said Jackson, president of the MEA/ESP Caucus Executive Board. “We take the brunt of the budget cuts that schools are making. Their mindset, to make cuts ‘as far away from the classroom as possible,’ overlooks the contributions support staff make to student learning.
“Our work goes largely unacknowledged and underappreciated. Think about it. We drive the buses, we clean and maintain the buildings, we prepare and serve the food, our secretaries are the ones students, parents, teachers and administrators go to for answers, and our paraprofessionals are right there in the classroom with students—we’re the foundation of both the school district and in most cases the community.”
Privatization has become a growing threat, resulting in the loss of ESP jobs in some school districts, even though private companies have a spotty track record of delivering the savings they promise.
“We need to debunk the commonly held notion that privatization is cheaper in the first place,” Jackson said. “There’s enough experience with it to convince local school boards that in the long run there’s no real cost savings. These are, after all, for-profit companies that see school districts as a big source of revenue for them.”
Jackson is encouraged that MEA is developing a more effective statewide strategy to fight privatization.
“We’ve had success in stopping privatization in some districts, and I think our new plan will strengthen our ability to fight outsourcing attempts head-on,” Jackson said.
As it is, school districts now routinely threaten to privatize ESP jobs to extract concessions at the bargaining table, resulting in salary and benefit reductions.
“Until we have a stable source of education funding in this state, so districts don’t have to even consider eliminating support staff, our schools won’t be as strong as they need to be,” Jackson said.