photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Several people gathered outside the Lawrence school district offices on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 to advocate for education support professionals.

Over 140 people stood outside the Lawrence school district offices prior to the school board meeting on Monday, advocating for a livable wage for education support professionals.

Currently, the school district is negotiating its contract with education support professionals, or ESPs. District representatives have suggested a 54-cent hourly raise during the initial bargaining session in August, and Lawrence Education Association ESP bargaining committee members are asking for a wage increase of $3.10 per hour, as the Journal-World reported.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Several people gathered outside the Lawrence school district offices on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 to advocate for education support professionals.

During the school board member’s meeting on Monday, five LEA members urged the board members to increase classified staff’s pay. Laya Byrnzhan, a paraeducator at Billy Mills Middle School, said ESPs, such as paraeducators, custodians, food service staff and administrative assistants and countless other jobs keep the schools running.

“This offer of 54 cents only allows many of us to continue to survive and does not reflect the sacrifices that we make, nor does it fulfill the district’s promise years ago to provide every staff member with the dignity of a living wage,” Byrnzhan said.

LEA President Emerson Hoffzales said this wasn’t about pointing fingers and blaming people, but it is to look forward and fight for what’s theirs.

“We’ve done really amazing things here in Lawrence Public Schools, and I think we can all attest that comes from our staff. It comes from every magical moment that’s happened in the classroom and in those schools every single day, and a lot of it comes from our ESPs,” Hoffzales said, adding that it’s time for a change.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Several people gathered outside the Lawrence school district offices on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 to advocate for education support professionals.

“We’re all, for lack of a better word, bashing our head against the wall trying to make money come out, and it’s not working,” Hoffzales said. “So we need to do something different. We need to be creative. We need to figure out what it is and make it happen.”

Board member Kelly Jones said it is challenging to not have gotten to the space that staff are asking them to get to.

“We can do more,” Jones said. “I hear that message loud and clear. We can do more. I just don’t want you thinking that this isn’t a commitment that we have and share with you all. And we’ll continue to work in the best way that we can to come up with the ideas that you’ve asked us for to ensure the living wage.”

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator, it estimates that the 2025 living expenses in Douglas County requires an hourly wage of $20.87 per hour – and that includes housing, transportation, food, medical and utilities for an adult with no children. District employees at the bottom of the wage matrix currently earn $14.02 per hour, according to the LEA.

Hoffzales told the crowd on Monday that there will be another bargaining session with district staff on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Lawrence school district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Over 100 people stood outside the Lawrence school district offices to advocate for education support professionals on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025.

photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

Several people and Lawrence Education Association members attended the Lawrence school board meeting on Monday, Sept. 8, 2025.