Tanya Selig waits to cross the street towards Canoga Park High School. Selig works for the second largest school district in one of the largest cities in America. On Mar. 23. Selig protested instead of going to work in support of higher wages for paraprofessionals of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

​

“We need sufficient resources and that means sufficient people,” Selig said. “If you don’t make a living wage, you’re not going to get sufficient people. So that’s why the wage is tied into proper staffing and reduced class sizes.”

​

The very next day, with the help of Mayor Karen Bass, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho reached an agreement with SEIU Local 99 to bring students back into the classroom and presented them with their requested wage increase of 30%. 

​

I was working as an LAUSD teachers assistant during the pandemic. I was also going to school at the time and managing both took a toll on my whole body. Teachers were depending on me to teach students, which was not in my job description.

​

Transitioning back to in-person was when I realized I needed to quit because I was then putting my health at risk for part-time hours and minimum wage.

​

I was eighteen, teaching first graders how to pronounce vowels, to add and subtract. I was the one the kids would go to for questions about the pandemic or outwardly, abstract ideals that were weighing on them. I even had to teach kids how to behave in a classroom setting because in fact they’ve never been in a classroom.

​

It was madness. I entered my junior year at CSULB and had to resign before moving, but that experience with students, teachers, and admin has shaped my opinions on what quality education is.

 

Selig recalled one worker at the high school, who told her the In-N-Out across the street was paying more than her hourly wage of $16.91. 

​

“She has no benefits, she has no paid time off. She’s making $25,000 a year. That’s not a living wage in California or in LA especially during this time.”

​

From April 3 to 7 SEIU Local 99 members were able to vote on a contract.  (what is the contract (According to SEIU Local 99, over 99% voted in approval of the contract. The agreement also includes a $1,000 bonus for part-time employees who stayed employed with LAUSD through 2020 to 2021, paid health care benefits for part-time employees and their families and an incoming increased salary of $33,000 and more retroactive pay. Now, future unclassified employees will earn the new minimum wage of $22.53 an hour. 

​

Before the ratification of the new contract, Carvalho called the agreement “historical” during a press conference. He said in a press release the contract is historical because it addresses “decades-long inequities impacting the lowest wage earners.” 

​

He also believes that this agreement is a right step in providing equitable resources. Carvalho also encouraged state leaders to invest in public education. 

Selig had her own opinions of Carvalho. 

​

“I think his view of education and the way to work with it is looking at social programs, trying to make it like a business,” she said. “He has a different experience in Miami, I do think he underestimated the legacy of cordial activism in LA.”

​

Cindy Gonzalez is a custodian at Canoga Park High School. She has worked at the high school for 9 years. Her thoughts on Carvalho are simple. 

​

“We need to be heard. And he needs to understand the way that he needs to survive, we need to survive, too,” Gonzalez said. 

​

During the summer, the school compensates her for custodial work. Without work in the summer, Gonzalez wouldn’t have any income for 2 ½ months. “How would I pay my rent? I cannot save all year like that because I don’t make enough,” she said. 

​

According to the Learning Policy Institute, “districts often respond to shortages by filling vacancies with substitutes (who are also in short supply) or by hiring teachers on substandard credentials and permits.”

​

The Learning Policy Institute published a study in Jan. 2022 of compiled data from Aug. through Sept. They found an increase in “teacher retirements and resignations, alongside a limited supply of candidates and a need for more teaching positions”.

​

The data is only from selected California district schools and includes the listed districts responses to teacher shortages during the pandemic. Their data said most districts would use other employees from other areas of their institution to assist with instruction during the pandemic.

​

“Teacher workload and burnout were major concerns as teachers transitioned to online and hybrid learning models.” According to the study conducted in California, districts saw more people retire and resign more in the second half of 2020 by 26%.

​

​

​

Figure 1 "Map of Participating Districts", was 

published by Learning Policy Institute which shows

the schools they collected data from. 

​

​

​