As students return to classrooms across Connecticut this fall, thousands of dedicated paraeducators, tutors, monitors, and bus drivers are returning to work under enormous strain. In many districts, our para units are at the bargaining table, fighting for new contracts that reflect the value of their work. In other districts, members are organizing to demand solutions to chronic understaffing, low pay, and underfunded programs that hurt both workers and students.

The truth is that Connecticut’s public schools are stretched thin. Paraeducators often take on multiple roles—supporting students with special needs, managing behavior, and helping keep classrooms safe—yet are still among the lowest paid in the education system. When positions go unfilled, it’s not just our members who suffer. It’s the students who lose out on one-on-one support, and the parents who rely on safe, reliable care.

These challenges don’t exist in a vacuum. Connecticut’s so-called “fiscal roadblocks”—a set of restrictive budget controls—are forcing lawmakers to set aside billions of dollars instead of investing in schools, healthcare, and public services. At the same time, our upside down tax structure and looming federal cuts to education funding are making a difficult situation even worse. Our state has the resources to ensure every child has the support they need in school, but the system is rigged to say “no” even when the money is right there.

The solution isn’t complicated. Connecticut needs to reform its revenue system so the ultra-wealthy and big corporations pay their fair share. Progressive taxation is the only sustainable way to give districts the resources they need to properly staff classrooms, pay paras fairly, and invest in the future of our children. Massachusetts just did it last year and raked in $2.2B while increasing the number of millionaires moving to the state. 

As Connecticut goes back-to-school, CSEA paras are fighting to make sure every child in Connecticut has the opportunities they deserve.