Wake schools have a shortage of teacher assistants. They hope this bonus will help

Facing a shortage of teachers’ assistants, Wake schools will offer new hires a $1,200 signing bonus. The move is aimed at making the low-paying but crucial jobs more attractive.

Assistant Superintendent A.J. Mutillo told board members this week that 11% of the county’s jobs are vacant, including more than 200 in special education.

“We expect a $1,200 bonus will help us attract the quality candidates we need,” he said.

Board members backed the move, much as they did for bus drivers in June.

But several noted the increase falls short of a competitive wage.

Starting pay for an instructional assistant is $11.30 an hour in Wake County, and board member Jim Martin said the bonus equates to roughly a 75-cent-an-hour increase.

He and board member Karen Carter both urged Wake schools to look at a more systemic approach to increasing pay. It would take a current teachers’ assistant three years to earn enough raises to match the $1,200 bonus.

“To get to $15 an hour as an instructional assistant, you have to work for Wake County for 20 years,” Carter said. “Twenty years.”

Teachers’ assistants hired after July will get a $600 bonus after three months on the job and another $600 in November of next year.

Though he supported the bonuses, Martin added “it really disadvantages people who have already committed to working with us.”