Jefferson County Public Schools is struggling to fill hundreds of classroom positions, and some of the district’s lowest-paid employees say they’re at a breaking point.
Jessica Lewis is heading into her third year as an instructional assistant at Tully Elementary, working with students who have disabilities. She said she earns just $26,000 a year.
“Financially struggling has really hit me hard,” Lewis said.
She’s a single mom to a fifth grader. While she adores her job, she said making ends meet is nearly impossible.
“I honestly cried when I got my first paycheck,” Lewis said.
On top of her full-time job, Lewis waits tables, babysits, delivers food and donates plasma twice a week just to stay afloat.
JCPS currently has around 330 teacher openings and more than 125 instructional assistant jobs posted on the district’s website.
At a public forum Monday night, incoming Superintendent Dr. Brian Yearwood heard concerns about staffing shortages firsthand.
“We don’t have assistants, and I know speaking with teachers at other schools they don’t have them either,” a special education teacher said during the Monday forum.
Yearwood responded, “We do not pay our assistants enough, let’s call it what it is.”
When asked if there’s a plan to increase pay for assistants, Yearwood said, “Yes, there is a plan, but we cannot move in that direction until we fix the budget deficit.”
Lewis said assistants are essential to the classroom.
“It does not make me feel good to know if there was not enough help in there, they’re going to go without bathroom breaks,” she said. “I don’t want to have to think about leaving a job where I know these kids are depending on me.”
But her own child is depending on her, too, and if the pay doesn’t change, she said she may not have a choice.
Credit: Adi Schanie-WDRB (TV) / Louisville
