Several District 128 support staff and tutors told the board Sept. 29 that the district’s use of a private staffing firm to fill paraprofessional openings is undermining contract protections and morale.

"TA positions in District 128 are currently understaffed," said Jill Giovannetti, identifying herself as a teaching assistant in the special services department and a parent. Giovannetti told the board that the district’s decision to use a temp agency to hire paraprofessionals "is in direct violation of the ESP union contract," and said the agency was offering rates "up to 30% more than the starting rate for regular first-year TAs employed directly through the school."

Lena Scolacci, a math tutor at Vernon Hills High School, said she and other ESP members view the posting by "Delta T Group Incorporated" on Aug. 7 as an outsourcing move that preempted normal district recruitment channels. "Bypassing our agreement and outsourcing positions at a higher rate is both fiscally irresponsible and disrespectful to those of us who have chosen to dedicate our time to serving the district's highest-needs students," Scolacci told the board.

Speakers gave specific pay figures and contract-language claims. Scolacci said the temp-agency starting rate was "up to $27 an hour," which she said is about "31% higher than the starting rate that was negotiated in good faith" and about "15% higher than my current rate after eight years in the district." She urged the board to "take immediate steps to correct this and recommit to supporting the people who show up every day."

Board members acknowledged staffing shortages in several comments and heard from multiple staff members that the district could pursue alternative recruitment steps — posting on job boards, attending college fairs or adjusting starting wages — before contracting with an outside firm. No formal change to hiring practice or immediate corrective action was recorded in public session.

The issue overlapped with other agenda items: the board later approved routine employment items and staffing lists, but those approvals were presented as separate, standard personnel actions and were not described by speakers as resolving the union and temp-agency dispute.

Speakers asked the board to honor the ESP contract language that designates the union as the sole bargaining agent for educational support personnel and to avoid using taxpayer dollars to pay temporary hires more than experienced, direct-hire staff.

Because this matter involves collective-bargaining language and personnel actions, speakers and the board framed it as a contractual and administrative concern rather than a curricular or student-safety item. Board members did not vote on the specific temp-agency hiring practice during the Sept. 29 meeting.