Re: 鈥淪pecial-needs students treated shamefully,鈥� editorial, Feb. 15.
I read the editorial with mixed feelings.
I agree that students with special needs are suffering because there is a dire shortage of educational assistants. I also agree with the analysis that funding for educational assistants gets short shrift in comparison to other areas of the education budget.
But I was appalled by the claim that the salary of an educational assistant averages about $50,000. That does not reflect any kind of reality that I am aware of.
I have been an educational assistant with the Greater Victoria School District for 11 years. I am relatively senior and am fortunate to work in a high school. Even so, with the district鈥檚 hourly rate and the hours I work, my annual salary is only $33,000. I can鈥檛 begin to imagine where this average of $50,000 comes from.
The editorial also makes some laudable proposals, but it ignores something else contributing to the shortage of educational assistants. During my time in the profession, I have seen my hours cut, and the number of students that are assigned to me increased. We look after highly vulnerable members of our society, we take care of them both emotionally, mentally and physically.
The district is certainly trying to hire new educational assistants, but it keeps quiet about the numbers leaving due to overwork and poor pay.
I love my job and supporting the students I work with, but, as the editorial rightly points out, there are just too few of us.
Alison Bott
Victoria
