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Support staff urge board to revisit contract; multiple employees warn of turnover risk
Summary
Several district employees and an IT staff member urged the board to reconsider a pending support‑staff contract, saying members feel underrepresented, threatened during bargaining, and at risk of leaving if the contract is approved; public commenters asked the board to delay or reject the agreement when it appears on the consent agenda.
Multiple support staff employees and a district IT staff member used the public‑comment period at the Oct. 13 Chambersburg Area School District board meeting to urge the board to reconsider a pending support‑staff contract scheduled for a vote in two weeks.
Mike Pittinger, an IT employee, said members of the support‑staff group feel the contract was presented without adequate representation and with pressure to approve it quickly. "We feel we weren't very well represented when this was presented to us and felt a sense of, like, urgency to vote this through," Pittinger said, and he asked the board to revisit the agreement and "hopefully vote no on it." He said concerns were raised in emails to board members prior to the meeting.
Several classroom aides and paraprofessionals reiterated staffing and wage concerns. Judy Gana, a TA at the high school, said support staff wages lag those of neighboring districts and urged the board to consider the classroom work support staff provide. "We are very below the wages of other districts for our jobs," Gana said.
Wendy Shear, another TA, warned that if the contract is approved in its current form, multiple aides plan to leave the district, which she said would harm students. "I have heard many of them say... they're gonna be leaving. And I'm concerned for the students because it's only gonna hurt the students," Shear said.
A parent, Amy Wibley, used her comment time to thank teachers and intervention staff for a recent Title I parent event that provided take‑home materials and strategies to support kindergarten reading; a student, Parker Christofull, asked the board to include more student voice in planning for school changes.
Board members did not act on the contract at the Oct. 13 meeting; the item was noted as appearing on a consent agenda for the voting meeting in two weeks. Multiple public commenters asked the board to reopen bargaining or delay approval so concerns can be addressed.
