School district employees protest outsourcing proposal

District is looking for ways to make up $1 million budget shortfall

COLLEGEVILLE>> It was a sea of orange and black inside the Perkiomen Valley High School auditorium Monday as some 200 dis- trict employees and supporters showed up to protest the possible outsourcing of jobs.

Nearly everyone in the packed auditorium wore matching orange and black T-shirts and sweatshirts during the school board meeting.

The board announced on March 12 that it was considering outsourcing its instructional and non-instructional para-professional support staff, which includes such employees as secretaries, teaching assistants and one-to-one aides for students with disabilities.

While the district has “no imminent plan” for outsourcing jobs, the board is looking to explore savings through an request for proposal for staffing options, board President Gerry Barnefiher said.

“An RFP (request for proposal) does not mean the district is outsourcing any positions,” he said.

The district, Barnefiher explained, is facing a budget shortfall of approximately $1 million due in large part to the contributions it will need to make to the Public School Employees’ Retirement System. It will either need to raise taxes or make cuts in order to balance the budget.”

The school district’s budget is

approximately $98 million. “More than two-thirds of the expenditures — which is almost 68 cents of every tax dollar for the district — is in salaries and benefits,” Barnefiher explained.

The district, he said, has had success with outsourcing jobs in the past, most recently with its technology department. The majority of the audience, though, responded to this point by laughing derisively.

Barenfiher made clear that the board is aware of the “tremendous value” support staff members have to the district and it will explore all of its options.

Afterward, many from the public spoke to show their support for the district employees.

Resident David Gittleman said by getting rid of support staff, the district would be a taking from those with the “greatest need and least ability to advocate for themselves.”

“If the idea of putting the prefix ‘para’ in front of professional makes the position less important,” he said, “how would you like to jump out of a plane with a chute with no ‘para’ in front of it?”

Gittleman said his wife and other support staffers are making sure students with learning disabilities and physical challenges feel supported and encouraged by these staffers and it changes them for the better.

A few parents spoke about how their son or daughter is somewhere on the autistic spectrum and that by allowing them to work with one person over their time in school, it makes their child feel more comfortable and helps them learn more quickly.

By outsourcing the position, as one parent said, without benefits and with wages rivalling aminimum wage fast food restaurant, her son would be getting “nuggets, fries and a milks hake, rather than chicken, broccoli and a cup of milk.”

“We’re definitely opening their eyes to some things,” said Kathy Malchitsky, president of the Perkiomen Valley Educational Support Personnel Association, about the school board. “I realize that the pension thing is an issue, but it’s not our fault. We are the lowest paid group and we all work here because we love it. We need our benefits and a number of us wouldn’t be hired back because we need benefits.”

After hearing from at least 16 residents during the public comment portion of the meeting, the board voted unanimously to approve a resolution to direct the administration to begin the RFP process for paraprofessional services.