POTTSTOWN >> Questions of salary seem to be on the front burner for the Pottstown School Board.
Board member Polly Weand said Monday the administration is trying to slip raises for administrators “through the back door,” and Federation of Pottstown Teachers members say they need raises to be included in a new contract.
Weand’s issue had to do with the salary for LaTanya White, who is adding pupil services responsibilities to her existing job of Supervisor of Virtual and Alternative Education and would see her salary increase 12 percent to $95,000.
Weand said while she agreed with creating the new position, and the person chosen for the job, the salary was never discussed in the executive session held during the personnel committee meeting April 14.
“The administration has slowly fed the reorganization plan the board tabled to try to get it passed piecemeal,” said Weand.
She was referring to an administrative reorganization proposal Superintendent Jeff Sparagana made in February and which the board put off with the idea that a new superintendent would want to organize things as he or she pleased.
“An attempt is being made by administration to railroad us into a salary that they want,” said Weand.
“I’ve been in this position before and looked the other way, but now I’m calling foul,” Weand said. “We did not discuss salary.”
“I couldn’t disagree with you more,” said Sparagana.
He said the proposal made by a school board member in that committee meeting specifically referred to it “as proposed in the original re-structuring plan.”
“If we continue to delay decisions, we will not have a team in place July 1 and operations of district grind to a halt,” said Sparagana, whose retirement is effective June 30.
“I feel like power has been stolen from this board,” said Weand, as she cast the only vote against White’s promotion and pay raise.
“We were elected to safeguard the finances of this community,” Weand told the other board members. “It’s time to step up and take charge. This salary is a slap in the face to taxpayers and to our teachers negotiating for a new contract,” said Weand.
That sentiment was welcomed by the Federation for Pottstown Teachers whose members have attended the last several months attending board meetings clad in the unmistakable fluorescent green union t-shirts.
They have spoken out against the reorganization plan that would hike administrative salaries and add positions, all while being told at the negotiating table that there is no money for raises.
More recently, teachers have publicly shared stories about what wage stagnation has meant to their personal and professional lives.
At the April 24 meeting, the teachers used proxies to exert pressure for a contract that includes raises.
A steady stream of 14 speakers made their way to the lecturn, some parents, some students as young as middle school and some, teachers reading letters of appreciation from students who are even younger.
Rupert Elementary teacher Shannon Wagner told the board that lately, her pride at working in Pottstown “has turned to frustration.”
In her job she has been “bitten by a student multiple times” had her room trashed and been attacked.
“And although I may go home and cry, I come back the next day with a smile and my arms open wide ready to hug, because that is what these children need,” she said.
But for the past three years hugging was not enough to pay the bills and she has had to take a summer job at Home Depot to make ends meet. Wagner said she has received more raises there, than “in my 10 years in Pottstown schools.”
Wagner, who is unmarried, said, “Once I pay my rent, I struggle to make ends meet. Not only do we not get raises, but our salary scale is painfully outdated. I love my job and I love the people I work with, but for the first time in my 10 years in Pottstown, I have updated my resume and I am applying to other schools.”
“We need to keep our teachers in our district,” said parent Gwen Swinehart, who read a letter praising efforts made in Pottstown for a special education student. “We want to attract new teachers who will want to stay and grow with our district, rather than get some experience here and then move on to other districts because they pay more.”
Swinehart pointed to the irony of teachers who inspire their students to go on to college, “but are then unable to afford to send their own children to college. This is not OK. We need to take a stand for our teachers right now and fight for what they deserve.”
Middle school student Shelby Clayton told the board that social studies teacher Stephen Allen “is one of those teachers I’ll never forget. Because of his personality, he has taught us, taught me, to never give up, to follow my dreams, to strive, to do my best. I’ll always remember Mr. Allen, for his elaborate sense of humor, for never letting me fail, for always pushing me. He was not only a teacher, he was a mentor.”
Stacey VanDruff, first grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School, read a letter from a former student which read, in part, “I can still remember to this day, my first day of school at Lincoln. First grade was a big step for me at that time, but all that nervousness quickly left after stepping into your class. A new place to me never felt more at home. I want to thank you still to this day for all that you taught me not just about school criteria, but life lessons to always keep a positive outlook. I cannot think of one bad day in your class.”
At the end of the meeting, Federation Vice President Mike DiDonato thanked the speakers for their sentiments and Weand for her objections.
“The federation also fears any ‘back-door re-organization,'” he said, “and we are disenchanted by tonight’s vote.”
