The Wrangell Teachers’ Association is asking the school district to take steps to reach and maintain full staffing of paraprofessionals, saying shortages make it harder to meet legal requirements for student support.

The union resolution, dated Nov. 10, was presented to the school board at its Nov. 19 meeting.

The resolution says ongoing gaps in paraprofessional staffing have increased pressure on classroom teachers and put stress on efforts to follow special education plans.

The union says the district has an ethical and legal duty to provide proper support for students who have individualized education programs.

It describes paraprofessionals as essential to that work and says repeated staffing gaps have led to “challenges meeting student support requirements.”

Schools Superintendent Joshua Garrett said in an interview the following day that the district is close to full strength. The school board approved the hiring of two new aides on Nov. 19 to fill vacancies, making six new hires since August.

“We have had some employee turnover this year,” Garrett said. “We’re currently very close to being 100% fully staffed.”

He said there is no set number of paraprofessional jobs, as the number is determined by need from one school year to the next. He said Nov. 20 that only one paraprofessional position was open.

The superintendent said the district is “within compliance in all areas regarding special education.”

Second grade teacher Aly Howell spoke at the board meeting as both an educator and a parent, noting that a shortage of substitute teachers adds to problems at the schools.

“This is different from the WTA letter,” she told the board. “I do feel supported by the school, but the shortage — especially for substitutes — really needs to be addressed.”

Howell said that when teachers or paraprofessionals are absent, other staff members often have to step away from their usual duties to cover classes. She said that can leave some special education students without the steady help they are supposed to receive.

The board had no comment following the presentation, but Board President John DeRuyter said later in a Nov. 26 interview that local economic concerns extend to the school district.

“I think when you consider that Wrangell has a shrinking population and shrinking workforce, then it stands to reason those same challenges would be felt within the school district,” he said. “Finding and keeping substitutes and paraprofessionals has been a challenge for the past few years. I wish there was a simple solution.”

The district has had to deal with seven resignations by paraprofessional staffers since January.

DeRuyter went on to express interest in the idea of hiring full-time substitutes as a possible solution, but said that idea would involve a lot of research before it could be considered.

The union resolution raises similar concerns about staffing shortages as those expressed by Howell.

The resolution urges the district to review how many paraprofessionals are needed and to include teachers and paraprofessionals in that conversation. It also calls for higher pay and better access to benefits.

Aides are hired at 5.75 hours per day, which keeps them under 30 hours a week — the threshold to receive health insurance benefits as a school district employee. The union says more stable hours would make the jobs easier to keep filled.

They also asked for higher daily rates for substitute teachers and clearer communication with staff and families about staffing plans.

When speaking to the board, Howell noted that while the school district did raise substitute teacher pay this year to $17 per hour, she said that is approximately $1 per hour less than many basic jobs in town like working at a grocery store.

Paraprofessionals working with special education students start at $18.27 per hour, according to the salary schedule on the district’s website.

Garrett said he is not convinced that pay alone explains the lack of substitutes.

“I’m not sure that money is the central issue,” he said. He noted that many substitutes are retired teachers or people who are between jobs. “I think more money could certainly help, and we will be asking the school’s business manager to evaluate costs and possible changes.”

He said the work itself can be hard to fill because calls to substitutes often come early in the morning or with little notice. He added that the district needs to make sure the experience is positive enough that substitutes want to return when they are called.

“The administration does recognize the need for a long bench of substitutes to pull from,” he said. “Our substitutes need to feel valued within the district. But everyone in the district should be willing to step into other roles on occasion. We should all be prepared to do what is necessary to take care of our students.”

Garrett noted that he has already served as a substitute teacher at the high school once this year in an effort to help out.

“We need to address the challenges and make sure both substitutes and paraprofessionals feel valued,” he said. “It’s a multi-faceted problem.”