Board approves paraprofessional pay increase for special education; administrators say raises are cheaper than contractors

The Sierra Vista Unified District governing board on Tuesday approved an increase to the district’s initial wage placement for special education paraprofessionals and Sierra Schools paraprofessionals, a move administrators framed as both a retention strategy and a cost-saving alternative to using contracted aides.

District staff presented the proposed change and asked the board to raise starting pay levels: a $1‑per‑hour increase for program and adult‑support paraprofessionals and a $2‑per‑hour increase for Sierra Schools lead paraprofessionals. In the presentation, district staff said the current starting wage for paraprofessionals is $14.85 per hour and that the district pays contract agencies about $38 per hour for paraprofessional services when filling vacancies.

“Every child with a disability is entitled to a free appropriate public education,” the presenter said, describing the district’s legal obligations to provide services in the least restrictive environment and summarizing the range of supports paraprofessionals deliver — from small‑group academic support to medical and daily‑living assistance under an IEP. The presenter told the board that nationwide staffing shortages in special education leave districts short of essential positions and that retaining district staff is both a legal and fiscal priority.

Administration provided an estimate of fiscal impact. Using the district’s current counts, staff said a $1‑per‑hour increase for approximately 44.5 paraprofessional FTEs would cost roughly $10,500 annually (including benefits). By contrast, replacing one contracted paraprofessional with an SUSD employee would save about $18,673 per year. District staff presented this as a net savings example: hiring district paraprofessionals at a modestly higher wage is less expensive than relying on contractors.

Board members asked for clarification during and after the presentation about the cost estimates, benefits inclusion and how the numbers were calculated. Administration said benefits were included in the slide calculations and that the example used one contractor replacement to illustrate savings. A board member also asked whether preschool tuition for Town and Country preschool students was included in the calculations; administration said that specific tuition revenue was not included in the pay‑increase cost slide.

The board voted to approve the proposed initial wage placement increase; administration recommended the effective date of the wage increase be Sept. 27, 2025. The motion passed 5–0.

During the meeting board members and staff also discussed a separate payroll processing issue from the most recent pay period. District staff reported that a nationwide outage in the district’s timekeeping system and the Labor Day holiday caused a delay in hours transferring to the finance system; staff manually entered hours, issued paper checks for affected employees, and said about 59 employees were impacted. Administration noted that employees could pick up paper checks or have checks mailed and that those affected were paid by the morning following the incident. Board members and staff said they had followed up with employees and delivered checks in some instances.

Votes at a glance: Proposed initial wage placement increase for special education paraprofessionals and Sierra Schools paraprofessionals — approved 5–0; prior consent agenda including personnel actions — approved with one abstention (4–0 with 1 abstention).