The state of Connecticut will distribute $10 million to school districts to assist with health insurance costs for more than 7,000 paraeducators.
Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon announced the funding Oct. 23 and said it will help cash-strapped educators across the state who play a vital, but often unsung role in the classroom.
“Despite the indispensable role paraeducators play in our schools, many struggle to both stay in the field and afford necessities like housing and health care,” Scanlon said in a statement. “This just isn’t right.”
Paraeducators step in to supplement a teacher’s work to ensure no child falls through the gaps. They work with children with dyslexia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), children who need extra tutoring and those struggling to regulate their emotions.
Despite the demands of their job, many earn just a few dollars more than the state minimum wage.
"Many of us have second jobs to try and make up for the small income. We only make $23 an hour, “ said Christine Lentocha, a special education paraeducator in Glastonbury.
Lentocha provides one-on-one support to students with special needs by implementing individual lesson plans, while also helping them with behavioral and physical needs.
“Many of us have families and need to have affordable health care and are not payed enough to offset the cost," she said.
Jan Hochadel, president of AFT Connecticut, a union representing teachers, said the state must continue “this lifeline” for paraeducators.
The union AFL-CIO has long called for paraeducators to be paid living wages, get affordable health care through the state, and receive defined benefit pensions. For example, a job opening at Meriden Public Schools for a paraeducator lists an hourly pay in the range of $18.32 to $22.75.
A listing of a para educator job position at Hartford Public Schools states an annual salary range between $25,268 and $47,463.
“This stipend for paraeducators will help reduce health care costs,” Shellye Davis and Tricia Santos, members of the School Paraprofessional Advisory Council said. “It is a long overdue step toward improving recruitment and retention.”
The state of Connecticut originally established the program as part of the 2023-2024 budget. Since then, Scanlon’s office has released $15 million in funding directly to districts to subsidize paraeducators’ health care costs.
This year, paraeducators enrolled in a high-deductible health plan with a health savings account, are eligible for an almost 70% discount from their annual deductible share, due to the infusion of state money.
Paraeducators enrolled in a traditional, premium-based plan will also receive a discount in their health care premium costs.
“With this support, I can focus on what I do best,” said Louise Vezina, a paraeducator at the North Stratfield School in Fairfield. “[And that’s] helping every student learn, grow, and succeed.”
