By Marianne Sullivan, Courier Senior Staff
Writer:
The district’s
boards of education and the union representing paraprofessionals and
instructional assistants have reached agreement on a three-year contract, for
the period from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2011.
In this year, the
first year of the contract, the general wage increase is 2.5 percent. In years
two and three of the contract, the general wage increase is 2.75 percent in
each year. These increases, according to a comparison prepared for the boards
of education, are below statewide averages for contracts of this kind. The
state averages range from 3.21 percent to 3.34 percent.
In addition to the
across the board wage increases, the school boards and the union have agreed to
add a new step to the top of the wage schedules. Employees move through the
steps based on years of experience and each step represents a pay increase in
addition to the general wage increase.
Superintendent of
Schools Kim Caron said the district, which includes the three local elementary
schools in addition to the regional middle and high schools, employs 87
paraprofessionals. They are used to assist with the instructional program
generally and with individual students as needed, he explained.
“There are
paraprofessionals assigned to individual special education students when
necessary. We also have instructional paraprofessionals that help in the
classroom setting, others in our library/media centers, and others in our
kindergarten classrooms,” he said.
On the recently
negotiated salary schedule, starting salary for a paraprofessional is $12.51
per hour. An example of a mid-range salary is $13.78 per hour and a
paraprofessional with 15 or more years of experience at the maximum wage and
step earns $15.49 per hour, Caron explained.
The boards also
agreed to increases in the longevity payments from $200 to $250 per year for
employees with 10 to 14 years completed service in the district, from $250 to
$300 for employees with 15 to 19 years of completed service, and an additional
category was created for employees with greater than 20 years of service at
$350 per year.
The new contract
includes modifications to the health insurance plan offered to employees.
Co-payments for doctor’s office visits, emergency room visits, and outpatient
visits have been increased. Prescription drug costs were also increased
minimally. At the same time, employees will pay a greater share of their
premium costs. That share will be 11 percent this year, 11.5 percent in the
second year of the contract, and 12 percent in the third year.