On April 2, 2024, the School Committee’s typically procedural budget-voting meeting became a touchstone for Cambridge paraprofessionals’ fight for a living wage. Protesters and community members who spoke at public comment demanded a larger budget with provisions for increased paraprofessional (paras) pay; instead, the Committee passed the originally proposed budget of 268 million dollars for the 2025 school year.
This budget is a 9.5% increase from last year, instead of the 11% the Cambridge Educators Association (CEA) had rallied for the remaining 1.5% comes to about 4 million dollars. “The bottom line [is that this budget] is not enough specifically to pay our paraprofessionals, clerks, and substitutes living wages,” Dan Monahan, president of the CEA, told the Register Forum.
“All of these people are the backbones of schools; without them classrooms cannot run, and without them schools fall apart,” said Keeley Danielson, a Cambridge paraprofessional who spoke at public comment in the April 2 meeting.
Current Cambridge paraprofessionals’ salaries vary widely based on experience, but a majority are paid between $37,792 to $55,129 according to their contract However, many employees say that their pay doesn’t cover the cost of living in Cambridge. “We cannot adequately support the education of our students unless you first enable us to support ourselves and our families. One job should be enough,” said Marissa Fried, another Cambridge paraprofessional, in public comment.
The question of how to achieve this living wage, however, is tricky. Paraprofessionals are union employees, so their salaries are determined by their current contract — not through School Committee allotments. In fact, if a new paraprofessional contract was agreed upon through negotiations, the extra money wouldn’t come out of this most recently passed budget; instead, it would be part of the subsequent year.
CPSD’s total budget is determined each year privately by the City Manager; the School Committee only decides the specific allotments within the funding. By the time of the vote of adoption, the School Committee had already met several times and hosted several community forums on the matter, giving the community a comprehensive review of what was to come and the opportunity to make public comment.
This year, CPSD’s budget is nearly triple the average state budget: the district spends around $40,000 per student, as opposed to the $15,639 spent by other Massachusetts districts “From where I sit, I would expect and hope that with the $40,000 per student that we’re spending that there would be enough and sufficient funds to pay paraprofessionals an appropriate salary and educate all students,” City Council member Patricia Nolan told the Register Forum.
Regardless of its immediate result, many agree that the demonstration has impacts beyond the Committee’s decision itself. “People were excited and are excited and enthusiastic that we have so much support,” said Monahan about the teachers and paraprofessionals he works closely with.
Until then, paraprofessionals like Danielson emphasize the need for CPS community members to continue supporting contract negotiations. “Cambridge must provide a living wage for people who are here every day for our students and taking care of the most vulnerable parts of our school community.”
