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Guilderland TA unit president urges board to address pay inequities created by July sub‑rate change
Summary
Christine Govan, TA unit president, told the board a July decision to set a $25/hour sub rate for some teaching assistants created inequities in CSP classrooms; the Rep Council voted to ask the district to remove that $25 CSP sub rate and declined an across‑the‑board $25 proposal for base wages.
Christine Govan, president of the district’s teaching assistant unit, used the public comment period at the Nov. 19 Guilderland Board of Education meeting to press the board on pay equity among teaching assistants.
"The action taken in July to institute a wage of $25 per hour for teaching assistants subbing in the TA for a TA in the comprehensive skills program classrooms caused inequity within the CSP classrooms," Govan said. She told the board the TA Representative Council convened and voted to ask the district to remove the $25 CSP TA sub rate because it produced large, unequal step changes for long‑serving TAs. Govan said in some cases the proposed change would amount to "a 31 percent raise" and could be equivalent to moving a TA from step 1 to a much higher step, disrupting the negotiated step schedule.
Govan acknowledged that many members support higher pay for CSP assignments, but said other assignments (one‑to‑one, general education) also involve difficult or hazardous work and that pay changes should come through formal negotiations and member input. She asked the board to recognize the division the Rep Council’s decision created and to ensure future adjustments follow a negotiated process.
No formal board action on the TA request was recorded during the meeting; the comment was heard as part of the public comment period. The district and bargaining representatives will need to resolve the matter through the contract/negotiation process if either side pursues a change.
