There is a critical shortage of ed techs in school districts across the state.
There are currently more than 500 job openings in Maine. At Massabesic in Waterboro, school started this week with more than 10 openings needing to be filled.
Cathryn Thompson, who has two sons in the Massabesic School District, credits an ed tech for helping her older son improve his reading skills.
“It did help,” Thompson said. “Definitely. He advanced a lot throughout the year. He was a little behind when he went in and now he’s caught up.”
Massabesic Superintendent Dr. Steve Marquis said ed techs provide special instruction to students. He just hired two, but it’s not enough.
“We’re hovering in that 10-15 range for educational technicians,” Marquis said.
He said the current pay scale and competition from other schools are barriers to hiring the people they need.
“We haven’t adjusted for our educational technicians similar to other districts,” Marquis said. “So we’re looking at all aspects and opportunities to hire quality people that are going to do a good job with our students.”
Grace Leavit, the president of the Maine Education Association, said the teachers union has been pushing for higher pay for hourly workers like ed techs.
The pay range for an ed tech is currently $14 to $18 an hour, going up to $20 to $26 an hour for those with more college experience.
“Our ed techs, in particular, work really hard with students. They’re absolutely important to supporting students,” Leavitt said. “And absolutely deserve higher pay.”
With bus routes being canceled last year, and a staff shortage this year, Thompson and her husband are considering homeschooling their son.
“We might actually end up pulling him and doing some homeschooling instead,” Thompson said.
School administrators said to be hired as an ed tech I, you need at least 30 hours of college credit, 60 and 90 college credit hours for an ed tech II and III, respectively.