BROCKTON -- With paraprofessionals and Brockton Public Schools still at an impasse, an independent mediator has stepped in to help both sides reach an agreement.
"There was no movement," Union President Stacy MacDonald said about the first session with the mediator on Oct. 15. She said the district indicated it would provide a "proposal" on Oct. 22.
The paraprofessional contract with the district expired on Aug. 31. Talks stalled after the district proposed a 2% raise, which, due to rising health insurance costs, would leave them earning less money than last year, according to the Brockton Education Support Professional Association (BESPA). The next mediation session is Oct. 27.
A spokesperson for the district shared a written statement, "We look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with our paraprofessionals toward a fair and sustainable contract."
What are paras asking for?
In a statement shared with The Enterprise, BESPA called for:
* "A livable wage -- one that ensures we do not take home less than we did last school year.
* Paid parental leave -- not the 12 weeks of unpaid leave currently offered by Brockton Public Schools.
* Basic workplace protections including equitable treatment and injury benefits aligned with those provided to the teachers we work alongside every single day."
Paras and their supporters have filled the five slots for public comment at the start of every School Committee meeting since the start of the school year. Each has used their three minutes to share emotional testimony, describing a difficult - and sometimes even dangerous - job that is essential to the school district. Many have said they work multiple jobs to make ends meet, and that their love for the kids they work with is what keeps them at the job.
Donna Shearing, a paraprofessional for Brockton Public Schools, said during one meeting she was threatened to "be removed from my duty" for using sick time to deal with a chronic medical condition.
"I was out three days because I have autoimmune disorders," she said to members of the School Committee. "I had that sick time. And [I] was subsequently told that, if my 'inconsistencies' were to continue, I would be removed from my duty. That's not fair."
She paused for a moment.
"I cried myself to sleep. I was depressed for days. I give my heart and soul, just like every single one of these professionals in here does... You cannot put a price on the love and respect that we have for the job, our colleagues and the kids of this city," she said during the Oct. 7 School Committee meeting.
Shearing added that the living wage for Brockton, according to a calculator on the Massachussets Teachers Association website, "is a minimum of $60,000."
"You would essentially have to double our pay," she said, "and I don't think we've asked for doubling our pay."
How much do Brockton paraprofessionals make?
Under the current labor deal, paraprofessionals start out at $23.15 per hour. A 2% boost would make that figure $23.61, according to a chart MacDonald displayed at Davis Elementary the morning of the first day of school. That gain would be wiped out by higher contributions for health care and dental coverage, according to MacDonald. Paraprofessionals work 6 hours and 15 minutes or 7 hours and 15 minutes per day, according to the recently expired deal, which stays in effect until a new one has been reached.
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