The Hampton Elementary School Board of Education at its January 22 meeting discussed changes which could significantly affect non-certified staff next year.

Meaghan McKinnon, a paraprofessional at the school, spoke during the Audience for Staff regarding a recent meeting with the Superintendent and Business Coordinator called to discuss potential changes to the benefits for non-certified staff including co-payments of 16% toward health insurance premiums and 50% of the deductible, and the elimination of ten paid holidays. The elimination of paid holidays, McKinnon said, would equal two weeks, or an entire paycheck, of compensation. McKinnon was accompanied by colleague Cheryl Penrod, who has served as a paraprofessional at the school for over 30 years. Both McKinnon, who has four children attending the school, and Penrod, are Hampton residents.

Though McKinnon estimated that these changes would save approximately $13,500, Superintendent Skarzynski said that the number was closer to $32,000 because the changes would also affect other non-certified staff including the school nurse, the administrative assistant, the business coordinator, and the custodian, most of whom work a full year, as opposed to the paraprofessionals who only work during the academic year.

Skarzynski explained that the potential measures are meant to save money in the upcoming budget, which will be impacted by escalating costs in health insurance and other line items, the State’s plan to reduce the Education Cost Savings Grant by $83,000, and the need to hire a Scientifically Based Research Intervention teacher and another primary teacher to provide additional assistance in the early grades in order to reduce the amount of students in need of special education services. With the exception of pre-school, with twelve children, and kindergarten with seven, classes are combined, with 22 students in grades one and two, 13 students in grades three and four, and 16 students in grades five and six.

Board members expressed support for the paraprofessionals and their concerns. Member Dennis Timberman spoke at length regarding their importance to the school, the teachers and especially the children. Other board members echoed his remarks, noting that paraprofessionals are often assigned to students with special needs.

The board also voted to form an Ad-Hoc Committee for Non-Certified Staff Representation. Currently there is no policy, only past practice which dictates that non-certified staff facing disciplinary meetings with administrators may only bring another non-certified staff member with them, rather than a union member, an advocate, or an attorney. Board member Juan Arriola has been asking for a discussion on representation for non-certified staff for over a year, and his requests have been ignored by Chairman Rose Bisson, but the issue was finally included on the January 21 agenda, and after discussion, members unanimously voted in favor of establishing the ad-hoc committee, with Bisson abstaining.

Arriola’s concern stemmed from his attempt to attend a meeting with former custodian, Armin Harris, who requested Arriola’s presence at a disciplinary meeting with the former principal and the superintendent. Disputes with non-certified staff have embroiled the school in six complaints filed with the Freedom of Information Commission, four pending and one, which the school ultimately lost, that cost over $8,000 in legal fees, three complaints filed with the Commission on Human Rights, one resolved with a $20,000 settlement, the other two pending, and two investigations conducted by attorneys, one costing $18,000, the results of which the board has yet to be apprised, and another beginning in the near future regarding a complaint filed last September by the former principal regarding Arriola’s support of Harris.

Arriola expressed his hope that providing proper representation for non-certified staff will eliminate these costly legal bills. He suggested during the meeting that the board should look to unnecessary legal expenses as a cost savings measure. Skarzynski assured members, “I’m working on it.”