The Haverhill School Committee is expected Thursday to discuss an employment contract and the future of a city-owned garage in the Riverside section, most recently used by the school department.
On the meeting agenda, the committee is expected to vote on a memorandum of a tentative contract agreement with the school custodial union, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Local 888. Earlier this month, WHAV reported member school custodians ratified in late July a new three-year agreement retroactive to the last fiscal year. Custodians would receive no pay raises for last year, a one percent increase this year and 1.75 percent next year. Each of the city’s 35 custodians would also receive $100 each. The committee is also scheduled to discuss a contract proposed by Superintendent James F. Scully for new Director of Strategy and Accountability Jared Fulgoni, who was promoted last month after three years as Hunking School principal. Also, committee President Scott W. Wood Jr. has requested to discuss a contract for the district’s business manager.
Also during Thursday’s meeting, the committee will consider a request from Scully to declare surplus for future disposition a maintenance garage on Katsaros Drive at Brown Street, near Holy Family Hospital at Merrimack Valley. It would also authorize Scully to negotiate a lease agreement with the limitation of its use for “storage of equipment and/or maintenance related activities.”
The Haverhill school committee meets at 7 p.m., Thursday, in city council chambers at Haverhill City Hall.
This new contract for school custodians is outrageous and just goes to show YET AGAIN what happens in Haverhill when you don’t have professionals making decisions.
Six years ago there was a proposal before the school committee that would have privatized custodial services in Haverhill. It would have saved the city a minimum of $650,000.00 per year. Even with privatization NONE of the custodians would have lost their jobs. But it didn’t pass because school committee member Ray Sierpina thought it was more important to protect the pensions of a few city employees than to protecting the interests of city taxpayers.
As you would expect…the Mayor is to blame too!! He was for privatization all along right up until it was time to vote on it and he flip flopped and changed his mind. He never explained why he changed his vote but he must have done what he does best and cut some secret back room deal at the expense of tax payers. And who can forget the custodians after the school committee meeting where this vote took place following the employees of the private custodial company out into the parking lot and threatening them with violence to the point where the police had to be called.
Here the city is now six years later rewarding those violent, hack custodians. The city should be reaping $4Million dollars in savings through privatization, but instead these uneducated school committee members are increasing the tax burden on Haverhill citizens yet again. It’s absolute incompetence.
Jack the amount of custodians has been cut almost in half since the decision to not privatize. Your numbers are hugely inflated.