TESD Outsourcing Decision Pushed to June 17

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School Board on Monday night tabled a decision on whether to outsource the jobs of support staff in the district.

The board was set to vote on the issue at its regular meeting, but postponed the decision until June 17, according to the district website:  

By unanimous vote, the Board postponed consideration of an agreement with STS to outsource the work of aides, substitute aides, paraeducators, paraprofessionals and substitute teachers. The Board will reconsider this recommendation during the June 17, 2013 regular meeting.

The meeting ran past midnight, with more than three hours devoted to the outsourcing discussion, according to the Daily Local News.

The Community Matters blog said that the vote was delayed after opposition by a crowd of attendees "[s]tanding three people deep and overflowing into the lobby." The most striking revelations, according to the blog, were about the minimal hiring standards of Substitute Teachers Service Inc., the company through which the employees would be contracted:

They were told that STS employees only need graduate from high school, or a GED will suffice. (Remember all the aides, paras and substitute teachers working in TE have 4-year degrees and many have Master degrees). When asked if any additional training was needed to serve as a school district paraprofessional, the response from the company HR — was one evening of their STS Academy training (!).  [...]

Personnel director Sue Tiede repeatedly countered the low employment standard of STS that should District use this company, they would be required to meet the TESD requirements.  

The board cited the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, as the impetus behind the decision in a Q+A document intended for the affected employees, who would be released by the district and presumably hired for the same roles by STS.

One of the questions in the document addressed changes in pay:

14.  What will my total compensation be as an employee of STS? 

The total compensation as an STS employee includes a reduced hourly rate of approximately 12%; this new rate will not require a 7.5% employee contribution to PSERS; the employee will have the ability to choose to file for unemployment compensation benefits.  This new annual total compensation may be the same or greater than it had been as a TESD employee, because the PSERS contribution is not required and you may choose to file for unemployment compensation.  

A PDF version of the presentation from the meeting is available on the district website.