The Beaufort County Board of Commissioners has agreed to take up the issue of funding for local teaching assistants at a special meeting next week.

At Monday night’s Board of Education meeting, the board cut 16 locally funded teaching assistant positions due to the lack of funding from the state level. As the county has elected to not refill several of the positions, the decision is expected to leave nine individuals out of work.

Beaufort County Schools Superintendent Don Phipps said he is grateful that the commissioners have agreed to look at the situation and see what they can do.

He said any outcome from the meeting would likely only be a temporary solution, but the hope is that the number of jobs lost would be minimized.

“I’m appreciative at the local level that they’ve got interest and concern for the plight that we have,” Phipps said. “We’re going to have to look beyond this year.”

County commissioner Ed Booth said he is ready to fight for the teaching assistants and “dig deeper” for funds, if need be.

“I’m going to do all I can to see if we can find some funds,” he said. “I’m going to do all that’s in my power to see if we can save those jobs.”

Booth said he thinks it’s important to have that extra person in the classroom, especially in the lower grades. He said the assistant helps the teacher to reach every student as needed, whether it’s a child who learns slower than the rest or someone who needs a new shirt after a spill.

“It’s those little things that mean so much to those kids,” Booth said. “We hate to do the work that the state’s supposed to be doing. … We just can’t sit around on our backside and wait on them.”

Beth Hodges, a teaching assistant at Eastern Elementary School for nine years, said she knows all too well the importance of her role in the classroom.

She said she doesn’t think the legislators really understand what all assistants do — Hodges herself drives a school bus, serves as a classroom assistant, helps with educational lessons while the regular teacher is testing and is working toward a bachelor’s degree at East Carolina University.

“There’s really not too much a teaching assistant doesn’t do at the school,” she said. “(State legislators are) looking at money, but they’re not looking at the educational benefits.”

Hodges said the best-case scenario would be that the commissioners find the funding to keep all of the assistants employed.

“Of course I think that’s wonderful that the commissioners would take the time to try to help us,” she said. “We need all hands on deck at all times.”

“I really hope we as commissioners can do the right thing,” Booth said. “I pray that we can do something.”

The Board of Commissioners will hold a special meeting on Monday, Aug. 17 at 8:30 a.m. at the county’s administrative offices, 121 W. Third St., Washington.