Brandon Twp.- Nearly 50 employees, both union and non-union, have offered to reduce their hours and/or take cuts in their compensation to ease the deficit the district is facing by about $200,000.
On Tuesday, Superintendent Lorrie McMahon announced that 21 non-union staffmembers, including the directors of curriculum, finance, food service, aquatics and fitness center, special education, technology and transportation, will take a 3 percent cut in their total compensation packages for the 2010-11 school year, equating to a savings of $109,000.
McMahon has offered to take a 5 percent cut in her own compensation, currently valued at $172,000 including salary, benefits, taxes and retirement, meaning a savings of $8,600.
Additionally, the Brandon Educational Support Personnel Association, a union covering 24 secretaries, clerks, and media center employees, have offered a reduction in the number of hours and days they work, resulting in a decrease in pay, saving the district roughly $82,000.
While McMahon and the various employees agreed to these concessions, they must still be approved by the board at the next board meeting.
‘We very much appreciate these different groups stepping up,? said McMahon. ‘They’ve managed to save jobs and significantly helped out with our budget crisis. As a group, they can make a big difference.?
Wage and benefits discussions for bus drivers and custodians in the district will begin in June. Both of these groups are facing their jobs being outsourced. A Plante & Moran survey estimates that the district could save 20 percent by privatizing bus service and 45 percent by privatizing custodial services. Requests for proposals are currently being accepted.
McMahon said administration has monthly meetings with the teachers, so they are always having discussions, but the union has not opened their contract to discuss wages and benefits. Contract talks aren’t scheduled until September.
Many district employees including teachers were at a well-attended April 12 school board meeting held at the Performing Arts Center. The proposed list of cuts were presented once again at the meeting, with little unchanged from recent discussions. Besides privatization of transportation and custodial services, other major changes planned include the lay-off of six teachers, elimination of kindergarten and special education paraprofessionals, elimination of the English as a second language teacher position, elimination of the school liaison officer position, reduction of hours for a literacy coach, reductions in the technology and maintenance budgets, and a reduction in curriculum purchases.
Speaking during the public comment portion of the evening, Debbie Allen, union steward for the bus drivers, said, ‘Privatization is not what this community needs. We shop and live here. The bus driving staff here have impeccable records. You are our families and Brandon kids are our kids. If everyone pitched in to help, we’d have a viable solution to our problems.?
Teacher Laura Frye said while she doesn’t want to see anyone lose their job, it is important to remember the focus of the district? the education of children.
‘We have to focus on our core and educate our kids,? she said. ‘It makes better sense to look at every position and how it affects kids.?
Cindy Locey, a kindergarten teacher at Belle Ann Elementary, spoke on behalf of her fellow kindergarten teachers in making a plea for the board to keep the paraprofessionals.
‘An extra set of hands is more important than textbooks, materials or equipment in a kindergarten setting,? she said. ‘Meeting the basic needs of kindergarteners is a challenge with an aide. Without an aide, it’s a huge disservice.?
Locey noted that the number of students in each class has increased by seven and parapros help the teachers with a diverse array of kindergartener needs, including separation anxiety and potty issues.
‘We really ask that you take into consideration the needs of the youngest Blackhawks,? she said.
‘Parapros are more essential than ever. We prefer they’re with us the entire year, but ask that at the very least, you allow them to be with us the first semester. At $50,000 for nine kindergarten parapros, that’s the biggest bang for your buck.?