Northshore School District support staff are underpaid by around $6-per-hour district-wide when compared to other paraeducators, school assistants and nurses in King County, a disparity which advocates say stems from financial shortcuts and gender inequality.

A study commissioned by the state legislature in 2011 and completed by the Compensation Technical Working Group looked at wages for educators in the state. It found that compared to other school districts, Northshore’s pay rates were substantially below other districts in the area for support staff, particularly Seattle’s.

This has prompted support staff in the district to push for increased wages, with concerted efforts beginning last spring, and negotiations continuing between the district and the Northshore Educational Support Professionals Association.

Kraig Peck works for Washington Education Association, and has been involved with negotiations.

“In relation to the state recommendations, paraeducators, school assistants and nurses are the farthest away,” he said. “There’s no other group in the district, including teachers, that are that far away from what the market rate is.”

The wage gap can be staggering. In Seattle, paraeducators make between $10,000 to $16,000 more annually.

The first rung of support personnel in the Northshore School District make $15.50 an hour, with wages capping at just over $19 after 15 years with an average wage of just under $18 an hour.

In contrast, state guidelines peg recommended average wages at $23.69 per hour, nearly six dollars higher than Northshore’s average.

The disparity is more stark for registered school nurses who were making around $30 per hour on average in Northshore School District in 2014, while the state study recommended paying them $37 per hour during the 2015-2016 school year.

Hours are also kept short, with almost half of support staff working only or under four hours a day, disqualifying many from receiving benefits. Support staff advocates say this saves the district money, but shifts the cost to students, who receive a lower level of education, and teachers, who are forced to cover vacant support staff positions and train new paraeducators.

Northshore Education Association President Tim Brittell said this has caused an increase in support staff turnover as neighboring districts that offer higher wages and benefits siphon off staff.

At a Dec. 8 Northshore School Board meeting, hundreds of teachers, paraeducators, school assistants and nurses turned out wearing red in a show of solidarity, asking for higher wages.

“We are educators who are substantially underpaid by the state’s own study,” said Jeani Schwenk, co-president of the Northshore Educational Support Professionals Association. “We demand to be treated fairly.”

Women made up the vast majority of those in attendance, a phenomena that has not gone unnoticed.

In a statement given at a June school board meeting by Schwenk, she attributed low wages to a high number of women filling support roles.

Schwenk cites institutional bias as a reason for wage discrepancies.

“We live in a society where racial bias, and gender bias, are ubiquitous and insidious. In a society where women make substantially less than me, and where African Americans make substantially less than whites, these biases are real, systemic problems,” she said.

In a press release, Schwenk said these were jobs previously thought of as secondary income jobs, largely for women, from a time when men were thought of as the primary sources of income.

Seventy-five percent of support staff bear either the majority or a substantial portion of financial burdens for themselves or their families, the statement said, with nearly one-third of support staff working a second or third job.

Elections last November resulted in two new members on the Northshore School Board, including David Cogan.

The Dec. 8 meeting was his second, and a study session is planned for later this month or January.

“I was really happy for the turnout, and the people that spoke,” he said. “I definitely recognize that these people make a huge contribution to the success of our students.”

No dates have been set for a study session, but support staff advocated hope the new board will be receptive to their concerns.

“That’s what we’re seeking, is to phase in something that would allow people to get to market rate,” Peck said.

Northshore School District spokeswoman Leanna Albrecht provided a district statement saying they are working in good faith towards a personnel agreement.

“We are confident that our joint work will result in a bargaining agreement that meets the needs of both sides,” the statement read.

Negotiations between the school board and the Washington Educators Association began last March, and are expected to continue until a new contract can be agreed on.