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Portland Adult Education teachers press board for pay parity; bargaining, mediation remain unresolved
Summary
Multiple Portland Adult Education teachers and union allies told the school board during the budget public hearing that hourly adult education instructors lack benefits and persistent pay disparities with K–12 colleagues. Speakers said the district has filed for mediation in the contract talks and urged the board to reach a parity settlement.
Dozens of current and former instructors and labor allies used the district’s April 1 public hearing and general public comment period to press the Portland Board of Public Education to resolve longstanding pay and benefit disparities at Portland Adult Education.
Hourly adult-education instructors testified that they are paid roughly $26.78 per hour (as stated by a speaker), receive no health benefits and do much of the classroom work alongside K–12‑contracted teachers who receive salaries and benefits. Witnesses said roughly 18–19 instructors at Portland Adult Education are covered by the K–12 contract, while most hourly instructors are not.
Speakers including Shoshana Host, Vanessa Sylvester, Dwight Scholes and Lucy Schulman described long service, teacher preparation and the financial strain of working without benefits. Scholes and others framed Portland Adult Education as an important economic and language-access resource for the state and city and urged investment to retain experienced teachers. Lucy Schulman said the bargaining team was surprised that the board chose to file for mediation; she described past offers as inadequate, including an example she cited of a proposed $0.54 hourly raise spread over three years paired with decreased prep time.
Jason Shedlock, president of the Southern Maine Labor Council, urged the board to return to the bargaining table in good faith and to focus on “how” parity can be achieved rather than “if.” Other commenters emphasized equity, retention risks, and the community benefits of adult education programs.
Why it matters: Portland Adult Education provides language instruction, job training and other services that district speakers and union leaders described as critical to immigrant and refugee integration and to the local labor market. Staff and union negotiators are in bargaining; the district’s decision to pursue mediation was raised publicly and framed as a point of contention by bargaining-unit members.
