Educators with specialized training are often in short supply across Guam’s public schools. A new bill aims to change that by offering incentive pay to employees who step into those roles.

Specialized school staff often carry some of the heaviest responsibilities inside the classroom from helping students communicate to supporting complex learning needs but many of those roles remain difficult to fill across the Guam Department of Education.

Senator Vince Borja says his Bill 226 would create a specialty certification incentive pay program for GDOE staffers who obtain certification in critical shortage areas – including special education services, language access, and disability support -- to solve that problem.

Qualifying employees could receive a biweekly stipend between $100 and $180, or a 5% to 10% salary differential, depending on their pay grade and step. The funding would come primarily from federal sources, including grants tied to services for students with disabilities.

Senator Borja says the idea is simple: strengthen the workforce schools already have, adding, “Right now, GDOE is short more than 120 aides for students with disabilities alone. When these positions aren’t filled, that responsibility doesn’t disappear. It shifts on to teachers, TAs, and other staff who are already doing everything they can to support their students.”

Rather than waiting for new hires, Borja’s bill encourages current staff to build new skills – and be compensated for it. But educators say the pressures in these classrooms go far beyond staffing numbers.

Special education teacher Julene Isezaki told lawmakers many professionals are leaving the field due to lack of support, dwindling resources, and having to pay out of pocket to ensure students have the supplies they need. “It’s really disheartening when students show up to the classroom and there’s no one there to greet them,"she explained.

Attorney Daniel Somerfleck says the proposed stipends may help, but won’t address deeper structural issues. “The primary question I have is why aren’t we adjusting the pay scales?" he questioned. "You know, if someone obtains an additional certification, that should, like with teachers, change them in their pay category.”

Guam Federation of Teachers union president Tim Fedenko pointed to regular school aides who often step in when staffing runs short, noting, “Some of those school aids cover three kids at a time. So with this bonus pay, would they get three times the bonus pay for covering three kids?”

“The other school aides that may not get this specialized training, they get thrown into a one-to-one aide, too.”

And long-time special education teacher Steven Wilman says keeping experienced professionals in special education requires recognizing the full scope of the work -- and properly compensating them for it. Under the proposal, GDOE would track whether the incentives actually help fill critical roles and improve support for students.

But as lawmakers heard during testimony, many believe solving the shortage will require more than stipends alone.

Those conversations are expected to continue at a Special Education Roundtable on April 14, where stakeholders will look for longer-term solutions for Guam’s classrooms.