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Classified staff tell Piedmont Unified board turnover is hurting students, urge higher pay and restored benefits
Summary
A special‑education paraprofessional told the board that classified employees are leaving after one to two years, citing low take‑home pay (about $2,100/month after six years) and urging competitive compensation and reinstated benefits to stabilize schools and support student success.
A special‑education paraprofessional told the Piedmont Unified School District board at the start of its meeting that classified staff are leaving after only one or two years and that every departure disrupts student relationships and institutional knowledge.
"My monthly take home pay after six years of service is approximately $2,100 a month," the paraprofessional said during the public‑comment period, arguing that wage levels make it unsustainable for many employees to live in the Bay Area. The speaker urged the board to treat retention as a strategic priority, not just an HR task, and to consider salary and benefits changes in bargaining.
The comment came as bargaining with employees continues; a district presenter earlier in the meeting described multiple negotiation sessions this spring that have covered class size, compensation, program evaluation and parental leave. Board members and district staff described recruitment and retention as central to maintaining program quality.
The speaker and other teachers who addressed the board tied continuity of classified staff to student stability, citing examples of aides, attendance clerks and campus supervisors who notice problems early because they have built long‑term relationships with students. Several classroom teachers also urged restoring fully paid family health coverage, which the speaker said Piedmont offered prior to 2011, and highlighted competition for staff from neighboring districts that offer more generous plans.
District staff said earlier that offering a fully paid, full‑family Kaiser HMO would add an estimated $1.2 million per year to current costs, a number board members treated as material but not necessarily prohibitive. The board did not take immediate action on the public comment but is continuing contract negotiations and indicated it will consider compensation and benefits options in upcoming bargaining sessions.
Next steps: bargaining will continue; the speaker asked the board to explicitly include classified retention, compensation and benefits in long‑term planning and staffing discussions. The board did not adopt a separate motion during the meeting.
