SAD 17 jobs hang on union support

OXFORD HILLS — Seven jobs in SAD 17 are on the chopping block, and only the district’s various labor unions can keep those workers employed.

Those jobs are needed to bridge the gap between $402,120 in cuts approved by the school board December 15 and a $502,080 reduction in general purpose aid ordered from this year’s school budget by the Department of Education (DOE). 

The larger number is SAD 17's share of $27 million carved from the DOE to accommodate an $80 million curtailment order issued November 19 by Gov. John Baldacci, who needed to stave off the impact of a $146 million shortfall in state revenues.

The cuts made by the school board in December included a saving of $11,552 realized when administrators, middle managers and supervisors stepped forward to offer a furlough day — i.e. taking a day off without pay.

If all union employees in SAD 17 volunteered to do the same, says Superintendent Dr. Mark Eastman, the district could easily account for the final $100,000 needed to comply with the DOE cut.

However, getting the union nod for a furlough day is not something done with the snap of a finger.

"The teachers' association, which represents most of our union groups, said they are not comfortable opening up the contract, and all the issues related to that," said Eastman.

Instead, Eastman and Waterford grade 5 teacher James Thorton, acting as president of the Oxford Hills Education Association, hammered out a compromise.

In a letter that went out to union employees January 15, Eastman and Thorton offered a "voluntary give back."

Union members were asked to either take a one-day unpaid leave of absence on June 19 (a non-class workshop day), or to work that day and make a tax-deductible donation to the district equal to their individual per diem rate of pay.

An option was provided to have any donation divided over the remaining weeks of the fiscal year and withheld from paychecks.  Depending on where each person falls on the salary scale, Eastman said, that donation could fall between $16 and $20 per week.

Of course, employees were reminded that compliance is voluntary.  However, it was also made clear that the lost day would not count against accumulated time to be credited toward retirement benefits.

"For each $10,000 of voluntary reductions, we will be able to save one position," read the Eastman/Thorton letter.  That sum equals the average rate of pay for each of the at risk positions between now and June 30.

Eastman told budget committee members that all seven position can be saved if union members will give up time, or otherwise make donations, equal to $75,000.

If that goal can be realized, the budget committee will recommend making the additional needed cuts as follows:

• Leave open a special ed technician job at Rowe Elementary — savings $7,720.

• Not filling custodian sick days with substitutes — savings $2,500

• Attributing a federal grant received for staff development work at Oxford Elementary, due to low test scores — savings $10,114.

• Eliminating K-5 "pullouts" (when teachers in a grade level leave class for staff development work, and are replaced for the afternoon with substitutes) — savings $3,673.

Eastman has asked union members to respond to the give-back request by Wednesday, January 28.  On January 22, budget committee members approved a "Plan B," in case donations fall below the hoped-for $75,000.

"We have no way of knowing what the level of participation will be," said Eastman.  "If everybody agreed to it, we'd have $100,000 — but we just can't project that."

According to the back-up plan — still awaiting final approval by the school board at its February 9 meeting — the following cuts will be made, in the order listed, to account for any short-fall in union donations.

The amonts listed for positions to be eliminated are estimated amounts that would have been paid during the balance of the year.

• Eliminate the after-school librarian — savings $2,000.

• Use ed techs instead of substitutes to fill in for absent teachers — savings $30,000.

• Use administrators to cover morning "pull outs" — savings $3,673.

• Eliminate one middle school/high school custodian — savings $10,000.

• Eliminate a literacy ed tech from Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) — savings $10,000.

• Eliminate the OHCHS intervention coordinator — savings $10,000.

• Eliminate a literacy ed tech from Waterford Elementary — savings $10,000.

• Eliminate a special education technician from Oxford Hills Middle School (OHMS) — savings $10,000.

• Eliminate a study hall monitor at OHCHS — savings $10,000.

According to Eastman, SAD 17 has a seniority system, meaning the people currently in those jobs may not be the ones to go, if there is someone lower on the ladder whom they can displace, assuming he or she is qualified to fill that person’s role.

"Depending on [union] participation, we may have to only cut one or two positions," said Eastman, "or we may have to cut more."

Eastman said no teacher could be laid off because state law requires a 90-day notice of termination.  By the time the 90 days expired, he said, there would be too few school days left to reap sufficient      savings.  The district can cut support staff with just two weeks notice.

Calls placed to Thorton requesting comment were not returned.