Article 2: Collective Bargaining Agreement with Seacoast Educational Support Professionals (SESPA) $37,246
To see if the School District will vote to approve the cost items included in the collective bargaining agreement reached between the Hampton School Board and the Seacoast Educational Support Professionals Association covering the three-year period from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2022 which calls for the following increases in salaries and benefits at the current staffing levels:
Year Estimated Increase
2019-20 $ 37,246
2020-21 $ 25,575
2021-22 $ 23,714
and further raise and appropriate the sum of $37,246 for the 2019-20 fiscal year, such sum representing the additional costs attributable to the increase in salaries and benefits required by the new agreement over those that would be paid at current staffing levels in accordance with the most recent collective bargaining agreement. (Majority vote required.)
What it means: The SEPSA Union contract runs from July 1stto June 30th. This three-year contract covers the support personnel who help teachers in classrooms, serve as monitors, support individual students including those with special needs. The negotiated contract represents a 1.75% wage increase for these workers, and also includes a variety of concessions from the Union with regard to medical insurance.
Those in favor say: The three-year agreement helps avoid additional negotiations and the associated costs. The employment category of Hampton Academy paraprofessionals is changed to reflect the addition of 15 minutes to their work day because the middle school has a longer school day than do the elementary schools. The prescription (Rx) plan is changed from a three-tier to a more cost-effective six-tier plan consistent with the rest of the district. Dental insurance is added with 75% of the employee coverage provided by the District. In the second year of the agreement, there will be a new “buy-out” provision for non-election of the health benefit. The paraprofessionals will gain one paid holiday with each year of the agreement.
The agreement maintains the current four-step pay scale. In each year, a new top step will be added at a level that is 1.75% higher than the current top step. Employees will advance each year by one step, but there will be no change to the existing steps in the scale. Each year the bottom step will be eliminated, leaving a four-step scale. At the end of three years, the agreement will have a four-step scale with 1.75% between the steps.
Total cost of the first year of the agreement is $37,246.
Those opposed say: No one spoke against this Article at Deliberative Session.
Fiscal Impact: The average Hampton home valued at $405,000 would bear an increased tax cost of $4.08 at current staffing levels.