Union leader: Pay boost for Madison educational assistants is 'step in the right direction'

Pat Schneider

The Madison School Board is taking a "step in the right direction" in acknowledging the role of educational assistants in helping students succeed, says a union leader.

The 737 educational assistants in the district had been working without a pay raise since 2009 says Erin Proctor, president of their Madison Teachers Inc. collective bargaining unit.

The $433.6 million budget for the 2013-2014 school year approved Monday also includes a 1 percent salary hike for teachers and administrators. The budget will translate to a 4.47 percent increase in the property tax levy.

The pay increase will boost the starting base wage for educational assistants to $12.58 an hour which, with longevity increases, can rise to more than $20 an hour for some work assignments, according to the labor contract. But educational assistants typically don't get as many work hours as most full-time workers do, Proctor says.

Much more on the Madison Schools' 2013-2014 budget, here.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at September 5, 2013 12:22 AM
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