Wisconsin public education advocates are joining a national push to raise awareness about widespread underpayment and poor working conditions for support staff.

Educational Support Professionals, or ESPs, range from paraprofessionals and custodians to kitchen staff, bus drivers and security personnel.

Amelia McConnell, a school secretary with the Verona Area School District, said support staff are usually hourly workers who often rely on multiple jobs to make ends meet. Nearly 30% of ESPs make less than $25,000 a year.

"What we're continuing to work on and grow is the message that one job should be enough, that as hourly workers, it is increasingly difficult to continue to work in public education," she said. "With the amount of passion we have, we would like to stay, but obviously many people have a hard time making that balance for their lives."

McConnell said they’re looking to pass an ESP Bill of Rights in Wisconsin to ensure support staff are properly compensated and equipped to do their jobs safely and effectively. The effort comes as Wisconsin continues to grapple with a K-12 funding crisis and a lawsuit challenging the state's public school funding system.

McConnell emphasized the critical role ESPs play in public education, noting they handle essential functions such as winter weather clearance and child health services.

She said support staff are often an integral part of school communities and makeup more than 40% of the K-12 workforce.

"Support for support professionals is also support of public education," she said. "We are the staff who live in the same communities as our students. We have relationships with our students. We help encourage them to continue to come to school. And sometimes we have the relationships that see and know the most about kids."

McConnell said they’re hosting small groups and listening sessions to gather input from ESPs across the state. She said a top priority is to ensure representation across different geographic areas, job categories and cultural backgrounds. She said the initiative also aims to protect public schools from vouchers and privatization while advocating for collective bargaining rights across Wisconsin.

Source: Public News Service