Aide becomes teacher, takes a cut in salary
Marlene Allbright, for example, has worked 16 years assisting teachers in Seattle classrooms — the last six with special-education students. But after spending two years and $30,000 to get her teaching certificate, she'll make about $1,000 less this year.
It's a problem that the school district, the teachers and their union would like to solve.
"This is insane," said Seattle Education Association President John Dunn.
The problem affects people who've worked as classroom aides in Seattle for eight or more years.
Allbright would have made $29,786 this year if she had remained an aide in a special-education classroom. As a special-education teacher at Chief Sealth High School, however, she'll make $28,302.
In a few years, she'll make more than she ever could have as an aide — even more if she gets a master's degree.
One reason the problem exists is that Seattle pays its classroom aides more than nearby districts.
Still, the initial cut is demoralizing, Allbright says.
And it's a disincentive to the very people that Seattle wants to encourage to join the teaching ranks.
"This is a target group," said Bill Bleakney, Seattle's director of human resources. He said these are people who have experience, have a good idea of whether they'd like teaching and include many who would help diversify the district's teaching force.
The district also badly needs people who want to teach in special education, as Allbright does.
Last year, Seattle was short about 20 special-education teachers — and had to put yearlong substitutes in those classes, which isn't ideal because they usually have no special-education training.
This year, 15 special-education positions have yet to be filled, Bleakney said.
The district and the Seattle Education Association are talking about ways to ensure that people such as Allbright don't lose money in their first years of teaching. They say the problem affects a few people each year.
Finding a solution is difficult. There are rules that govern how teachers are paid, and experience as an aide doesn't count. There are state limits on the overall total districts can spend on teacher salaries. And this is a tight budget year.
"There is no money even if we figured a way to pay them outside of the salary schedule," Bleakney said.
Dunn agrees that state restrictions are a problem, and would like to see those lifted to allow districts to pay teachers more if they have the local dollars to do it. That's one of the issues in the ongoing debate over teacher pay across the state, including how little beginning teachers make.
There are no state restrictions on aide pay, Dunn said. It's one reason why their salaries have risen to levels that, for experienced aides, surpass a beginning teacher's salary.
But Dunn also questioned the district's budget constraints, noting that it recently found the money to hire two administrators.
Allbright took the teaching job despite the pay cut because she's always wanted to be a teacher and because she'll earn much more over time.
Still, the pay cut makes her feel frustrated and devalued. And misinformed. She said the district originally told her that she wouldn't get more money as a new teacher — but that she also wouldn't get less.
Linda Shaw: 206-464-2359 or lshaw@seattletimes.com.