Paraeducators, supporters pack Marysville School Board Meeting in protest of layoffs

Marysville paraeducators and supporters packed a school board meeting Monday night after more than 200 paraeducators received lay-off notices due to budget cuts.  

The district cited an $18 million dollar deficit as the reason for the layoffs.  

At least 100 showed up for a rally before the school board meeting, and it was standing room only as the community made the case for those paraeducators in the schools.  One person who testified asked the school board to stop, "Stockpiling administrators" and to support paraeducators and teachers.     

Fifth grader October Huber held a sign in support of keeping his paraeducator Laura Murril.  

"She helps me get safe from the bullies," said Huber.

Paraeducators say they are often the first line of defense for vulnerable students and serve a variety of roles, supporting students emotionally, helping those who need extra attention with studies like reading and math and supervising areas like hallways, the playground and lunchroom. 

"Without the paraeducators in the class, they are not going to be learning, they are not going to be  playing, and they won’t have an opportunity to grow and be who they can become," said Michelle Defreece, Special Education Teacher at Kellogg Marsh Elementary, Developmental Learning Program. 

"Our paraeducators work with the kids one on one," Christy Tautfest, Paraprofessional for the Marysville School District & VP of SEIU , Turnaround room at Liberty Elementary School. 

Paraeducators like Christy Tautfest say the pay of a paraeducator isn't very high compared to other positions, and they do the work because they love the kids. 

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Hundreds of paraeducators receive layoff notices in Marysville SD, rally scheduled for Monday

As the Marysville School District faces an $18 million deficit, hundreds of paraeducators have received layoff notices for the 2023-2024 school year.

"Our jobs are not full time as it is," said Tautfest.  "I’ve been at 6.5 hours for a few years now and that’s before and after school to help with my patrols I do patrols at Liberty."

"We are just kind of confused about this knee-jerk reaction of letting all the paras go," Travis Marsh, Marysville Coaching Association President, teacher & football and golf coach. "These kids count on them.  When they found out they weren’t going to be here next year, a lot of them were sad." 

Those we talked to want the board to find cuts elsewhere.  

"There are better ways our paras are hands on with the kids and they are laying off the people  who are closest to the children instead of laying off those whom are furthest away and those whom honestly make more money," said Defreece.  "My opinion is if you lay off one high-paid district executive, that pays for 10 or 12 paraeducator jobs right there."  

The Marysville School District released a statement that reads;

"Recently, paraeducators across the district received layoff notices. The District values its paraeducators and is committed to restoring positions as soon as possible.

Due to a lack of full funding for education from the state and other budget deficits, the district was forced to reduce paraeducator, teacher, and administrator positions and teaching and learning programs. These reductions were necessary for the district to be fiscally responsible as it grapples with the loss of funding.

In the meantime, the district is committed to providing a high-quality education for all students and is working to minimize the impact of these reductions on students and staff. The district recognizes the challenge of reducing positions and is saddened that state funding is inadequate to support students' education.

The district appreciates the support of its community and is confident that it will overcome this challenge and emerge stronger than ever."  

The paraeducators tell Fox 13 that they received notice that some would be called back to work, but it's unclear how many, how many hours they will get per week, and when that might happen.