Last night’s Haverhill School Committee meeting got off to a rousing start when several dozen educational support professionals, or ESPs, for short, used a public comment opportunity to show their support for a pay increase. Barry Davis is president of the Haverhill Education Association.
“These people behind me are being denied a living wage. They’re being told there is not enough room in the budget to pay your employees a living wage,” he said.
Davis went on to draw a comparison to the city’s legal representation, charging there is enough money in the budget to double the amount being paid to him.
While the topic was not officially on the agenda, Trish Shaw, an ESP at Pentucket Lake Elementary School, presented a chart which showed Haverhill’s highest compensation level for paraprofessionals is lower than most other city’s lowest compensation level and asked the Committee to consider the value ESPs provide to Haverhill Public Schools.
One salary issue that was on the agenda, though, was approval of raises for Haverhill’s school cafeteria workers. Committee member Richard J. Rosa said the amount paid to those workers varied depending on the job, but the proposal is for a four-year contract for all. He listed what pay raises would be over that term.
“Year one is a $2 increase, year two is a $1, year three is a $1 and year four is a $1. The cost of it is $169,000 in year one, $84,000 in year two, $84,000 in year three and $84,000 in year four,” he explained.
School Committee members approved the proposal by a unanimous vote.
Also on the agenda was a similar memorandum of understanding regarding compensation for Haverhill’s school nurses. However, Committee member Paul A. Magliocchetti said the proposal is not yet ready for consideration. Committee members voted to table it until the next meeting on Aug. 10.