Salt Lake Elementary paraprofessional warns of untenable duties and missing training

Cora Hamilton, a paraprofessional at Salt Lake Elementary, told the Fairbanks North Star Borough School Board on Feb. 3 that her school is "not sustainable" under current staffing levels. Hamilton said Salt Lake Elementary operates with only three certified teachers, one acting head teacher, and the rest of the staffing complement is support staff who have had responsibilities added that exceed job descriptions.

Hamilton said she has been doing speech services, running the recess room, supporting inclusion, and fulfilling multiple SPED duties and clerical roles without the ESSA-negotiated training required when duties are assigned beyond a job description. She said those added responsibilities have created conflicts of interest and are hurting student support.

Hamilton also called attention to what she described as a lack of transparency around federal funding that might have been available to support staffing and kept the school fully staffed. She said staff and families are paying the price for decisions that left the school operating "on a skeleton crew."

The superintendent and administration addressed staffing and monitoring items during the FY27 budget presentation, saying administration will look to track vacancies and implement more granular monitoring of revenues and expenditures. The administration also noted the proposed FY27 budget includes investments such as additional classroom teachers and expanded supports that could, if approved, affect staffing capacity districtwide.

Next steps: Hamilton's testimony raises HR and compliance questions. The board and administration are expected to follow up on ESSA-article training obligations and the district said it would work to better track vacancies and risk-fund timing in its fiscal monitoring.