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Personnel committee: Scranton SD reports progress on summer hiring, flags $586,000 cost to expand kindergarten paras
Summary
At a personnel committee meeting leading into the June 3 board session, administrators said recruiting has produced 170+ applicants for roughly 101 open positions; converting kindergarten paraprofessionals from half‑day to full‑day was estimated to add about $586,000 in salary and benefits. Board discussed incentives to encourage staff to live in Scranton and pursuing state Pre‑K Counts funding.
The Scranton School District’s personnel committee reported progress on summer hiring and recruitment and presented a cost estimate to expand kindergarten paraprofessional coverage.
Mister Wolf summarized recruitment work that began in late 2023 — university job fairs, virtual fairs and early Frontline postings — and said the district has created a preliminary applicant pool of more than 170 unique applicants for about 101 open positions. He told the committee that principals and special‑education supervisors will begin external hiring within roughly three weeks after internal bidding is resolved.
On preschool and kindergarten staffing, Mister Wolf and his staff provided an HR calculation showing the district currently budgets for roughly 15.5 kindergarten paraprofessional FTEs working half‑day assignments. "So the financial impact, again, approximately to move the kindergarten paraprofessionals from half day to full day would be approximately $586,000," the administration reported. Board members pressed for data on whether full‑day paras improve outcomes and were told the district lacks definitive internal longitudinal data; Dr. Keating said fall staffing needs are being driven by population changes and a notable increase in special‑education and English‑language‑development needs.
Board members also discussed ways to encourage teachers and staff to live in Scranton. Administration said a residency requirement would likely require bargaining with the union (SFT) and might limit the applicant pool; several directors favored voluntary incentives, such as a stipend or one‑time payment for city residents, and asked administration and legal counsel to research examples from other districts.
On early childhood, Dr. Keating recommended pursuing state Pre‑K Counts funding if allocations are made; she said the district would apply for slots for elementary schools, but exact staffing and program design would depend on final grant dollars.
The committee also heard public comments supporting arts visibility, improved website presentation for art programming and badges/safety concerns; administration said a new badge system is being installed and unresolved badge issues would be addressed immediately.
Next steps: administration will continue recruiting, complete internal bid awards, begin public hiring as permitted, return with any negotiated incentive plans and provide additional data on para deployment and Pre‑K grant applications.
