Although Christmas is still more than a week away, Haverhill School Committee members received some early gifts at their meeting Thursday night.
The chamber was full last night as Haverhill’s educational support professionals showed up with bags of gift-wrapped boxes representing what they called “uncompensated work” as the School Committee prepares to begin negotiations on a new contract next month.
Maureen Zuber, the educational support professional’s unit representative, explained what each gift was as her elves handed out the packages to School Committee members. The gifts ranged from teaching double classes when there are no substitutes, to being used as lunchroom monitors as well as being physically and verbally attacked by students.
Ms. Zuber went on to say. “All we are asking and all that we want to do as an ESP is to perform the job that we were hired to do, support the students that we were hired to work with and to make a living wage while doing so.”
Educational support professionals are a bargaining unit within the Haverhill Education Association. The group’s current contract expires next June.