Angry school workers speak out at City Hall
By George P. Hassett

   The paraprofessionals who complement the teachers in Somerville classrooms took advantage of a Nov. 30 public meeting at city hall to express their outrage.
   "We have no salary advancement for five years. We get no paid holidays or vacation days and we have little or no chance to earn overtime," said Linda Vitiello, president of the Somerville Teachers Association (STA).
    The public hearing was organized by state rep. Carl M. Sciortino, D-Somerville, and Ward 7 School Committee member Mary Jo Rosetti to discuss the future of Somerville schools. But Vitiello and more than thirty other paraprofessionals used it to call attention to what they believe is an unfair situation.

   Paraprofessionals with up to five years experience make $13,000 a year and are currently working without a contract.
   ‚ÄúWe bargained a good chunk of last year,‚Äù said Vitiello. ‚ÄúIn June we felt we had come to an impasse and were no longer making progress, that is why we have felt the need to picket and voice our concerns.‚Äù
     Anthony C. Caliri, the human resources manager for Somerville public schools, is handling negotiations on behalf of the school department. He declined to comment.
     Vitiello said the main concerns of the paraprofessionals are securing an increasing pay scale, maintaining the current health insurance plan and regulating the number of times a paraprofessional can be pulled from their regular classroom to cover other classrooms.
     Currently, a paraprofessional with five years experience makes the same amount of money as one in their first year.
     ‚ÄúWe want a re-structured salary scale where a paraprofessional with experience will be paid accordingly,‚Äù said Sandy Moriarty, a paraprofessional at the Healey School since 1999. ‚ÄúIt is very discouraging for a highly qualified educator going into their fifth year on the job to realize they are making the same amount of money as a person who just started yesterday,‚Äù she said.
      Vitiello said the paraprofessionals are resisting the school departments initiative to implement language that could alter their current health insurance plan. The change would shift much of the financial burden on to the paraprofessionals, she said.
     ‚ÄúWe treasure our health insurance. It‚Äôs wonderful, but we want to keep it as it is. The changes proposed by the administration could be devastating for employees who do not have the opportunity for overtime or detail work,‚Äù she said.
      Moriarty said paraprofessionals are currently  contractually obligated to cover and substitute outside their regular classroom 20 times a school year. The administration wants to increase that to an unlimited the number of times, she said.
       ‚ÄúA well planned lesson will be disrupted by unpredictable removal of educators from the classroom,‚Äù said Moriarty.
       ‚ÄúMoving paraprofessionals in and out of classrooms takes away from the learning experience of the children,‚Äù said Vitiello. ‚ÄúThe administration is trying to make it easier to fill in for absent teachers, but the students will not receive the same type of instruction if this happens,‚Äù she said.
        Vitiello said the importance of paraprofessionals to Somerville schools can not be underestimated and any mistreatment of these educators is a blow to the entire school system.
        ‚ÄúParaprofessionals keep students from falling through the cracks. Every child has their own individual needs and to address every single one is just too much for one teacher. The paraprofessionals are a valued asset for the teachers, students and parents of this city,‚Äù she said.