In declining to go on the record with support for Cambridge Public Schools paraprofessionals, substitutes and clerks in contract negotiations, a majority of city councillors on Monday went on the record to express their support for the paraprofessionals, substitutes and clerks in contract negotiations.
The policy order failed with only authors Ayah Al-Zubi and Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler voting yes, another four councillors opposed, two voting “present” and mayor Sumbul Siddiqui recusing herself because the mayor also serves on the School Committee.
It was separation of powers that was cited by several councillors as cause not to support the order. “The School Committee is there to do the School Committee’s work, and we should not be dabbling,” E. Denise Simmons said. “We should stay in our own lane.”
That was the message also from councillor Tim Flaherty, who in rejecting the order said, “everyone here supports labor unions. And I personally think the paraprofessionals should make more money. I support a living wage, and I support the work that they do.”
A refusal to cross the line and interfere with committee work was also cited by vice mayor Burhan Azeem, whose rejection came with the note, “in my personal opinion, it would be fine if we spent extra. I think that paraprofessionals and other teaching staff really do deserve it.”
Councillor Marc McGovern voted “present” while saying, “if folks are looking for a statement of support, I support our paraprofessionals, our teachers, our substitutes, our cafeteria workers, everybody who works for the Cambridge Public Schools, and I want them to be paid fairly.”
In the 17 negotiation sessions so far between the district and the Cambridge Education Association, the district has proposed almost a 60 percent increase over two years to its lowest-paid paraprofessionals, councillor Patty Nolan said. That is “astonishingly generous,” she said, giving another reason to oppose the order despite it being also important “that we’re treating people fairly and have a living wage.”
Simmons gave the scantest endorsement – that the classroom aides “very likely may need to be paid more,” but with the context that her family is fourth-generation Cambridge Public Schools, and members have worked in the school system.
Appearance of conflict of interest
The order was written with the help of the Law Department to avoid conflicts, Al-Zubi said, so the council could support the CEA and its union employees like other labor groups. “We can’t be a council that supports all other workers who fight for their dignity, including supporting Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25 tonight, and then turn a blind eye to our very own workers who are advocating for a living wage,” Al-Zubi said.
All of Cambridge’s state representatives and senators also support the workers, Sobrinho-Wheeler said.
Flaherty, an attorney, identified why he felt this was different – that Cambridge councillors don’t fund the Encore casino in Everett, where locals 25 and 26 are protesting low pay. (In the language of an order approved Monday, casino workers say “one job should be enough to live in the city they work in, raise a family and retire with dignity.”) When it comes to the school district, “we do vote on the budget,” he said. “This creates, at a minimum, an appearance of conflict of interest.”
Education is the biggest single expenditure for the city, accounting for $280.3 million out of a total $991.2 million in the 2026 fiscal year adopted spending plan. Chris Montero, president of the CEA, said Monday that worker requests for higher wages would amount to less than a 5 percent increase to the school budget, or a 2 percent increase to the city budget.
Montero urged passage of the policy order because negotiators for the School Committee “want to know that the agreement they reach will be funded and supported by this body.”
Cost of living meets budget austerity
There was some resistance to the request itself for what it would add to the budget in austere times. A common complaint was cited by Nolan: that the district already spends a lot per pupil, or around $40,000.
Eighty-three percent of the district’s budget goes to salaries and benefits for its employees, the result of Cambridge being an expensive place to live and work; another 8 percent goes to the district’s obligation to provide out-of-district education and other student transportation, for 91 percent.
The CEA says a paraprofessional working full time can earn as little as $32,000. Councillor Cathie Zusy said the average paraprofessional salary in Cambridge is $52,000 with the inclusion of “tons of add-ons, and there are basically zero paras that don’t get those add-ons.” She found the pay to be “’in line with what other communities are offering,” though she did not provide a cost-of-living comparison – like Nolan, who said the existing district raise proposal would bring the lowest-paid paraprofessionals to the level of other districts.
The median household income in the city cited by Cambridge’s economic development department is $130,748, and the cost of a studio apartment at $2,200, meaning it would take more than half of Zusy’s cited average paraprofessional salary to rent a studio apartment in Cambridge.
“I can no longer afford to live where I work as a substitute teacher and rowing coach,” said KariAnne Kulig, speaking to the order with 27 other people during the night’s public comment period, after around 70 to 80 educators rallied outside City Hall before the meeting. “I’m on the waitlist for public housing and looked into the shelter system just in case, as I don’t make enough for low-income housing.”
“I have a master’s degree and years of experience that is not reflected in my pay,” Kulig said, slipping in references to two other items on the agenda as they applied to her: “I’m also in support of decriminalizing sex work in Cambridge, as I have considered this work but fear I would be discriminated against if discovered at one of the schools I serve. I also ride my bike to work around the city, as I cannot afford a car … the world is becoming unbearable for many of us. I urge the City Council to throw us a lifeline.”
