Rabon Files Measure to Provide Pay Increases for School Support Personnel

State Sen. Jeff Rabon has authored legislation calling for a salary increase of $1 per hour for state-funded school support personnel.

Rabon said the increase that would be provided through SB 770 is needed to keep pace with the increasing costs of supporting a family.

“As the father of three elementary school children, I know how hard support personnel work to keep everything running smoothly in our schools,” said Rabon, D-Hugo. “This proposal is really the least we can do to ensure the compensation is fair for the hard work done by our support personnel.”

Last session, the legislature approved a raise of 50 cents per hour for support personnel - an amount Rabon said was insufficient.

“The amount of last year’s salary increase simply wasn’t commensurate with the value of the work they provide,” Rabon said. “With a budget surplus, we have the means to ensure we provide a proper increase this year – we just need to have the will to approve the funding. The amount was not fair to our support personnel in light of the $3,000 increase provided last year to our teachers.”

Under the provisions of the bill, the salary increase would apply to both full-time and part-time state-funded support personnel, taking into account any increase or reduction in duties that may affect the rate.

Rabon’s bill will be considered when the formal 2007 session begins, starting on Monday, February 5.