An educational technician at Portland Public Schools said at a board meeting Tuesday night that the understaffing is creating a dangerous situation for staff and students.

“The (individualized education plans) we are dealing with and the students we are dealing with, combined with the vacancies we have, are putting educators and students at risk,” says Portland. said David Aguirre, who has worked with special education students for 28 years.

In their second year without a contract, educators want more respect and higher pay amid a critical shortage of educators.

Aguirre said three teaching technicians were bitten just Tuesday, leaving other students unattended and students attacked as people rushed to deal with it. other students because they didn’t have enough coverage.

“How much is student safety worth to you?” he asked the board.

Bobby Shaddox, another Portland educator and parent, attended the board meeting and said he advocated livable and competitive wages for all Portland education techs.

Education Technician salaries range from $15 to $26 an hour depending on education and experience.

“My students often talk about how Ed Tech has impacted their lives. He says it makes them feel valued and noticed. I said, working with students in small groups is very important to running a school district.

“Attracting and retaining the best educational technologists enhances the experience for the most vulnerable students in our district,” he said. It’s not enough to attract people to these jobs.”

Like state and national school districts, Portland faces a severe shortage of educators in many areas, but the most acute shortage is in educational technicians. They currently lack about 30 educational technicians in special education programs that serve about 1,000 students out of a total enrollment of about 6,400 students.

” Previous

Related article