Support Our Mansfield Paraprofessionals!
Mansfield School Committee
Mansfield Paraprofessionals are in negotiations for a fair contract that recognizes their essential contribution to the Mansfield Public Schools. The Mansfield Paraprofessionals who provide essential services and support to Mansfield's most vulnerable students do not earn a living wage (Defined by MIT as $39,297 a year for a household with no children)! Currently, paraprofessionals working fulltime in Mansfield Public Schools can earn a top salary of $28,060 a year. Many of us do not make enough to live in Mansfield or the surrounding area, and can leave the district we love to earn much more in neighboring districts like Sharon, Foxborough, and Norton. This has led to challenges recruiting and retaining the educators that our students desperately need.
The Mansfield Paraprofessionals Association is fighting for a new contract that will represent real commitments not just to the Paraprofessionals of Mansfield, but also to the students and the families we serve. We are bargaining with the School Committee, but we need your help to show them that the Mansfield community supports its Paraprofessionals and believes that all people working in our schools should be paid a living wage!
If you agree that it's time for Mansfield to fully fund our schools and give our kids the resources they deserve, we ask you to add your name to this petition.
Sponsored by
To:
Mansfield School Committee
From:
[Your Name]
We, the undersigned, respectfully ask the Mansfield School Committee to reach a fair agreement with the Mansfield Paraprofessionals Association. Mansfield’s Paraprofessionals are essential workers who provide vital services and support to the most vulnerable students in our schools, and ensure our schools are safe and healthy for ALL our students. Our schools would cease to function without them. Despite their vital role they do not make a living wage (defined by MIT as $$39,297 a year for a household with no children)! Currently, paraprofessionals working fulltime in Mansfield Public Schools can earn a top salary of $28,060 a year.
We believe that the School Committee and the Mansfield Paraprofessionals Association share a common interest in creating and developing the schools our families deserve. Our schools are the heart of our community, and the dedicated educators who serve our children deserve a fair and just contract that reflects their invaluable contributions.
Mansfield has a chance to invest in their future by agreeing to a fair and transformative contract for Mansfield Paraprofessionals. To accomplish this, the Mansfield Paraprofessionals Association is fighting for:
- Competitive compensation to recruit and retain talented and experienced paraprofessionals. Mansfield paraprofessionals earn well below neighboring districts like Sharon, Foxborough, and Norton and do not earn close to a living wage. This means educators with years of experience and connections in this community are forced to juggle multiple jobs and many leave a community that they know and love to work elsewhere. As curriculum-specific demands increase, teachers are increasingly reliant on high quality Paraprofessionals to help students reach their potential and navigate the academic programs of our schools.
- Just cause for all our Paraprofessionals so they are afforded the basic dignity of job protections.
- Competitive benefits that include a sick leave buy back program that honors the commitment of long time educators upon retirement, and increased flexibility in the utilization of sick and personal days.
- Parental Leave that addresses the realities of the 21st Century. Currently, Mansfield Paraprofessionals have no paid parental leave policy. While most workers in Massachusetts qualify for Paid Family Leave, public employees are exempt from this benefit. Paraprofessionals who take parental leave must rely on using their sick leave or take their leave unpaid. We are asking the School Committee to acknowledge the need for a comprehensive, guaranteed paid parental leave policy in order to attract and retain Paraprofessionals
We can’t continue to let our schools run on the exploitation of our Paraprofessionals. We need to properly invest in our educators and, in turn, the future of our community.
As a community, it is imperative that we attract and retain these talented and dedicated individuals. We urge you to do the right thing and value our Paraprofessionals by paying them a Living Wage and negotiating a fair contract.