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Perkiomen Valley board considers switching substitute provider, reviews $76,800 benefits-consultant proposal
Summary
Administrators proposed moving substitute staffing from STS to EduStaff to save about $30,000 annually and discussed hiring Hillandale as a benefits consultant at about $8 per employee per month; board asked for additional data before final decisions.
The Perkiomen Valley School District board spent significant time reviewing proposals to change substitute staffing vendors and to hire a benefits consultant for a district-wide audit.
HR presented a recommendation to transition professional substitutes from STS Education to EduStaff and to bring paraprofessional substitutes under the external provider. HR said the change would reduce professional staff markup from roughly 33.3% to 28% and use a 25% markup for paraprofessionals, producing an estimated ~ $30,000 savings year-to-date and operational time savings for HR and payroll.
Moran, the presenting administrator, said EduStaff can offer regional recruitment and building-based training and that Upper Marion, a nearby district, saw an increase in fill rates when it switched earlier this year. Board members raised concerns about the substitute pool size, the onboarding burden for substitutes who would need to register with a new agency, and whether lower vendor markup would affect the district's ability to attract substitutes to pick up assignments.
On employee benefits, administration proposed a service agreement with Hillandale at about $8 per employee per month—roughly $76,800 annually based on district FTE—to audit the district's participation in its health-care consortium, review claims and stop-loss contracts, and advise on benefit-structure changes. Moran said the consultant could run audits of claims utilization and recommend structural changes but that the board should expect roughly a year of engagement to get meaningful audit results.
Board members asked for clarity on vendor capacity, transitional logistics and where the consultant fees would come from in the budget. Missus Lofton and others recommended keeping both items off consent for additional clarification; administrators said they would provide more detailed data before a final vote.
Next steps: HR will return with data from EduStaff about local substitute availability and with information on transitional mechanics; administration will provide specifics on Hillandale's deliverables, contract duration and budget source.
