In contentious meeting Wednesday night, outraged teachers aides let Albuquerque Public Schools leaders have it over their pay.
Their outrage stemmed from raises given to three assistant superintendents, and a pension raise for Superintendent Winston Brooks.
The district's educational assistants make an average of $13,000 annually in their full time position. They haven't seen a raise in four years.
"We had a slap in the face," educational assistant Jennifer Kruger said. "We would appreciate you realizing that you could not run the schools without us!"
Education assistant Feliz Gauna said perhaps the top leaders deserve the raises, but they could live without the extra money, unlike herself and her colleagues.
"We are below poverty," she said, pounding the podium. "Let me repeat that, we are below the poverty (level)."
The assistants said they do their job because they love the children, many who have special needs.
"We know it's a service. We know that we're going to make a difference," Albuquerque Educational Assistants Association President Kathy Chavez said. "We do make a difference everyday in those classrooms. Everyday, we do that."
But, she said, they can't continue to live like this.
APS Board President Paula Maes said their hands are tied.
"There is nothing APS can do," she explained to Action 7 News after the meeting. "It has to come from the legislature."
Chavez has launched a campaign to gather support and show lawmakers in Santa Fe.
But the union felt duped when news of the raises made headlines.
"Everyone was signing. They were agreeing, and believing what we were saying," Chavez said. "Then boom, all hell broke loose."
The APS Board President said those raises saved the district money because the top positions now have to do extra duty.
The educational assistants said they have been doing extra work for the past four years.
At the end of the meeting, the school board ratified the AEAA's contract. It doesn't include a raise.
Read more at KOAT...
Teachers' aides call administration raises 'a slap in the face'
NewsNM: Swickard - obviously written last week, but the points are so very important - Commentary by Dr. Thomas Sowell - Our children and grandchildren may someday bless us or curse us for what we do this Tuesday. Against that background, it is painful to see the petty talking points and gross misconceptions that seem to dominate this year's election campaign. Take the question of jobs. How many times have we heard about how many jobs have been added during the Obama administration? Yet few people bother to find out whether these are net additions to jobs -- which is what is crucial.
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