Teachers, parents tell board paraprofessional shortages are creating safety and instruction problems

Several teachers and parents told the Salt Lake City School District Board of Education on Oct. 7 that persistent shortages of paraprofessionals and other support staff have created safety and instructional problems and are driving staff burnout.

During public comment, Jeremy Reynoso, a kindergarten teacher, said repeated absences and unfilled classrooms reduce learning time and “ripple through the system.” He said substitutes often cancel and administrators end up providing supervision, leaving teachers to cover additional classrooms. “When staff support staff are stretched thin … safety and supervision become real concerns,” Reynoso said.

Jennifer Johnson, a kindergarten-through-2nd-grade essential elements teacher, described special-education classrooms where loss of even one paraprofessional forces staff to pull aides from other rooms and leaves no one available for students’ lunches or prep time. Johnson said she has 30 minutes of prep time per week during the school day and frequently works nights to prepare, and she asked the board to “support giving special education an adequate budget that ensures sustainable paraprofessional staffing.”

Amanda Sutton, a teacher with 16 years’ experience, told the board that her school has historically supplemented paraprofessional positions with land trust funds and still cannot fill two open paraprofessional positions. She said long-term paraprofessionals who stay through college need insurance and other benefits to remain, and that high turnover prevents schools from retaining experienced aides who can provide tier-two instruction.

Mike Harmon, president of the Salt Lake Education Association, said the union will begin a “board watch” program to regularly attend meetings and report back to educators about board decisions; he said teachers want more transparency and clear links between board decisions and classroom practice.

Board members did not take action during public comment. Several members later raised staffing as a district priority during discussion of other agenda items; the board directed staff to continue work on budget and staffing priorities through regular budget and facilities planning processes.

Ending — What’s next

Board members and district staff said they will continue to include staffing and retention in budget discussions and to consider options such as increased pay, benefits, and targeted hiring incentives. No formal motion or vote on districtwide paraprofessional funding occurred at the meeting.