Paraprofessional Mary Jo O'Brien Shouldn't Have to Live in Debt

Mary Jo O’Brien is a Delawre State Education Association member who only earns $18,823 a year Her monthly rent for subsidized housing is larger than her paycheck, so she works two nights a week as a waitress. Even with a second job, she is constantly in debt.

She qualifies for food stamps but doesn’t use them. In addition to rent, she pays for electricity, her car and a phone. That’s it. No cable. No dinners out.

Her daughter, a freshman at the University of Delaware, can study there thanks to a scholarship, though she can’t afford to live on campus.

Summers, O’Brien manages a shop in Bethany Beach, which also helps a lot. O’Brien is an inclusion paraprofessional, working with five students with disabilities at Gunning Bedford Middle School in Colonial. Mary Jo was o.k. until she divorced. Two paychecks were able
to cover the bills. But now, she struggles from month to month.

When her daughter was young, she ran a daycare in her home, and made more money than she does now. Her son, a cook just starting out, makes more than she does.

Why does she do it?

“I love my job, the kids. If we can make them smile, or help them succeed at staying focused to finish a task, well, it’s hard to quit, “ she says. “Don’t get me wrong: it’s
rough, but when they smile, it makes it all worthwhile.”

Mary Jo is why we’re fighting for a paraprofessional starting salary of $20,650, which is still below what is needed to support a family in this state. But it’s a start.

We’re also lobbying to collapse the state scale from 24 steps to ten steps over the next two to three years. In this way, paraeducators can reach maximum salary sooner, thereby dramatically increasing their earnings over time. It shouldn’t take 24 years to earn $24,000.

Related Links:

• Delaware State Education Association
  DSEA Action Newsletter