Sen. Dan Cruz urges study of school support staff pay with SJR 14

Sen. Dan Cruz introduced Senate Joint Resolution 14 at a Delaware Senate Education Committee hearing, asking the Department of Education to produce a statewide report on education support professionals (ESPs) that would document how many people fill those roles, where vacancies exist, how those positions are classified and how compensation compares to living-wage benchmarks.

Cruz told the committee that ESPs — a category that includes bus drivers, food-service workers, custodians, paraprofessionals and others who support students and keep schools operating — are essential to daily operations but that many are struggling to make ends meet. "SJR 14 is about recognizing and strengthening the workforce that keeps our schools running every single day," he said, urging a data-driven first step before any policy changes.

The resolution would direct the State Department of Education to work with local education agencies (LEAs) and other stakeholders to gather the information and produce recommendations. Cruz said the study would compare ESP wages to living-wage measures such as the MIT Living Wage Calculator and ALICE benchmarks to identify gaps and guide future decisions. "It's not putting a flag in the ground," he said of the $40-per-hour example discussed in committee; "it's a signal for us to do due diligence and look at the data."

Representatives of the Delaware State Education Association and the Delaware Charter Schools Network testified during public comment. Tamika Mays, incoming president of DSEA and a former paraprofessional, said ESPs "deserve to be paid like the professionals we are" and testified that ESPs on average make less than $27,000 and are leaving the profession. "We are being, frankly, priced out of our profession," she said.

Kendall Masett, executive director of the Delaware Charter Schools Network, expressed support for the resolution's goals but warned about the burden of new reporting requirements on LEAs. "The reporting requirements for our LEAs is insane," she said, and recommended the committee consider a one-time report or a sunset provision rather than recurring annual mandates.

A DSEA representative, Taylor Hough, told the committee the MIT Living Wage Calculator was used as a starting point in the discussion; committee members noted that the MIT tool can vary county to county and that the $40 an hour figure referenced in committee was the living-wage estimate for a household with one adult and one child, not a prescriptive pay target. Department of Education staff told the committee they were neutral on the measure but could partner on a focused study, and emphasized concerns about aligning any new reporting with the department's strategic priorities.

No formal vote on SJR 14 was taken during the hearing. Chair Laura Sturgeon said the resolution would be circulated for committee members to sign and that the discussion had concluded. The committee adjourned after routine closing motions.

Next steps: the resolution was made available for signatures; the committee did not record a vote during the meeting.