After rally, agreement reached for new Verona paraprofessional contracts

Supporters rallied for new contracts for Verona’s paraprofessionals on Monday night.

Hours later, an agreement was reached.

A crowd of around 100 people gathered outside the high school and marched with signs denoting their cause. The marchers chanted, “What do we want? New contracts. When do we want them? Now.” 

"Now" turned out to come relatively quickly as the Verona Education Association union and the Board of Education reached an agreement around 1 a.m., according to VEA Vice President Carol Thomas. 

“… We reached agreement on the compensation that achieved the board's objectives on a deal that ends in 2021 to give our staff certainty on their salaries, etc. without need to negotiate again this fall,” added BOE President John Quattrocchi. “We also kept the costs in control and within our budget framework.”

The contract includes a 2.79 percent yearly increase to salaries for the paraprofessionals and retroactive pay for the 2016-2017 school year, according to Quattrocchi. The contract language is still being finalized and more details of the settlement will be released one the agreement is ratified, Thomas said. 

In May of 2016, the paraprofessional staff – who work with special-needs students - voted to join the labor association. Prior to the new contract, the district’s 68 paraprofessionals were not working under contract or a salary guide.

According to a statement from the VEA, inequity of salaries was the union’s main concern. Newly hired paraprofessionals were paid an average of $13.75 and up to $14.40 per hour while many of the senior employees made less, according to the statement. 

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“Several trained and experienced paraprofessional colleagues have left Verona to work in surrounding districts,” VEA President Chris Tamburro said. “This impacts all our students since the paraprofessionals help build an engaging, exciting, and rewarding community of learners.”

The paraprofessionals did not receive paid sick days and were paid less than several nearby districts, according to Diane Romano, a paraprofessional in Verona for 10 years.

“For now, we just want to receive a fair wage for the work we do,” Romano said.

Quattrocchi said the VEA called for negotiation in January, and they met four times through the end of that month. After the VEA asked for an impasse and a negotiator in May, they held another mediated session that lasted for five hours, he noted.

Antoinette Blaustein, a New Jersey Education Association representative for Verona, pointed out that the paraprofessionals work with “the most fragile population of kids.”

“We need a strong solid support staff,” Blaustein said, “and they should be compensated for that.”

Email: jongsma@northjersey.com