Union Members Hold Protest Demanding Aides Be Saved

Carrying signs with messages such as "Educate Don't Outsource," about two dozen teachers—as well as a smattering of students—protested the outsourcing of aides outside Montclair High School early Friday morning.

Organized by the Montclair Education Association, teachers said many of their aides had worked with the same students for years.

A few also said that principals and the superintendent should take a pay cut.

"If we didn't have the aides then the special education students wouldn't be able to handle the higher level of classes and might not be able to go on to college," said Jennifer Richtberg, a 10th grade history teacher.

The MEA is set to meet with the Board of Education later today to discuss their current contract that's good through June 30, 2012.

When asked whether teachers would be willing to contribute more towards benefits—or take a pay cut—in order to save aides, they responded that the superintendent and the principals should help shoulder the burden this time around.

Margaret Astorino, the MEA's interim president, said this week that the union shouldn't be asked to give back a million dollars every year.

"Last year we gave back $960,000 and that was out of the goodness of our heart," she said.

And teachers standing outside in the cold Friday morning before school, waving signs, agreed that administrators should not ask them to take cuts without agreeing to do the same.

Many of them wore white MEA t-shirts and carried signs with messages such as: "We Love Our TAs" and "Stop Union Busting."

Joyce Weeg, the MEA's vice president, said it's troubling that the Board of Education still plans to outsource aides despite getting more state aid than expected.

The state announced last month that Montclair's public schools would receive $4,648,788 in state aid for the 2011-2012 budget year—or an increase of more than $1 million over the previous year.

"Every teacher assistant will get a pink slip at the end of this year," Weeg said. "Why are they not putting this aid money back into the teacher aides?"

She said that not only will the district lose 200 full-time aides and 50 part-time aides, it also will lose secretaries, security personnel, and other employees.

"They should look at making changes to courtesy busing to save money or look to some other areas—but not to the aides," Weeg said.

Anna Pauchekha, a 10th and 11th grade teacher, said the aides are professionals who can't be replaced by just anyone.

"These aides really do know the students and the students really do know them," she said. "We don't want them replaced with temporary aides who change on a daily basis."

Astorino also pointed out that, with the loss of aides, the MEA would be losing 20 percent of its union membership.

On Monday, the school board approved a preliminary $110,035,941 spending plan for the 2011-2012 fiscal year that includes $3.5 million in cost reductions and decreases the school tax rate by 1.4 percent.

The plan includes the outsourcing of more than 200 teacher aides, which would save $1.7 million in annual costs.

At the protest Friday morning, MEA members distributed flyers containing "Truths About the Budget."

It said: "The district received an increase of $1,099,000 over last year's state aid. However, the [board] still chose to outsoure Teaching Assistants. With this additional money, the [board] shose to:

—Reinstate some sports and activity stipends previously slated to be cut;

—Not implement "Pay to Participate for high school students next year;

—Reinstate $120,000 into the classroom supplies budget;

—Keep courtesy busing mileage at 1 mile instead of the proposed 1.5 miles.

Astorino said Friday that the additional state aid money should have been funneled into keeping the aides.

Meanwhile, the school board is set to approve a final budget at a meeting on March 14.