A four-year contract calling for a 12% hourly wage increase in the first year has been approved by the District U-46 School Board and the District U-46 Educational Assistants union, which represents paraeducators.
The agreement calls for a per-hour increase of $2.25 in the 2025-26 school year, $2.25 per hour in the 2026-27 school year, $1.25 per hour in 2027-28 and $1 per hour in 2028-29, a district news release said.
With the increases, the hourly wage for paraeducators will range from $20.23 an hour to $29.58 an hour in the 2025-26 school year, depending on experience and job classification. By the 2028-29 school year, the hourly wage will range from $24.73 an hour to $34.08 an hour, the release said.
“This is a collaborative agreement that recognizes the important role our paraeducators and other members of (union) play in our students’ education,” U-46 Superintendent Suzanne Johnson said in the release.
Union membership voted overwhelmingly to ratify the agreement Sept. 10. The school board voted to approve it at its Sept. 24 meeting.
“We were seeking an agreement that allowed our members to feel confident in their profession as well as begin a path to appropriate compensation,” union President Tina Pizzitola said in the release. “With the new agreement including expanded onboarding, mentoring and professional development language, along with the new salary structure, we feel this agreement does that.”
Rather than the three categories members had been assigned, the new contract classifies members into two categories, A and B. Paraeducators who were previously in Category C will receive a one-time $1,250 stipend. The contract provides other stipends of up to $2,500 depending on where the paraeducator stands on the step pay schedule.
The contract calls for a mentor program to be developed this school year by district officials and the union, with a goal of launching in the 2026-27 school year. It would be designed to attract and retain employees, and participation would be optional for new hires.
The new agreement also updates the work calendar to provide additional time for professional learning.
Paraeducators work in general education settings, special education programs, early childhood classrooms, dual language classrooms and libraries, the release said. The union also represents sign language interpreters, piano accompanists and home school liaisons.
A group of union members attended the school board meeting, with Jose Perez praising the new agreement.
“I am deeply grateful for the collaborative spirit that (the union) and U-46 have shown throughout this process, and I look forward to the continuing and important work of uplifting our schools and strengthening our shared mission of ensuring that all children and staff in U-46 thrive.”
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.