The 2021 Scranton School District budget approved by the school board Monday night included raises for three administrators.
When the prior administration hired the business manager, chief human resource officer and special education director, the employees were given salaries inconsistent with employees in similar positions, officials said Tuesday.
Board President Katie Gilmartin said directors are correcting historical mistakes, as the board would for any employee paid at a lower rate.
Contracts with Patrick Laffey, business manager, and John Castrovinci, chief human resource officer, are in negotiations, Superintendent Melissa McTiernan said. The 2021 budget includes money for those contracts, she said. The budget did not include raises for teachers and other employees.
Incoming school board presidents from districts that serve Lackawanna County share a similar goal in 2021 â get students safely back to their classrooms.
âWeâre hoping for some kind of return to normal,â said Carbondale Area School Board President Gary Smedley, who is going into his 10th year in the position. âWe have to get the kids back into the school.â
Between Dec. 1 and 9, school boards reorganized for 2021. During the meetings, board members appointed presidents and vice presidents. New presidents include Michael Hallinan, Dunmore, and Joseph Mondak, Valley View, both longtime board members who have served as president before; Kevin Mulhern, Lackawanna Trail; and Robert Notari, Old Forge. Abington Heights, Carbondale Area, Forest City Regional, Lakeland, Mid Valley, North Pocono, Riverside and Scranton school board presidents will serve another term.
City property owners will see their school taxes increase 3.9% next year, under a balanced budget approved by the Scranton School Board on Monday night.
The district eliminated a $4.1 million budget shortfall through several measures, including delaying interest payments on new debt, adjusting projected health care costs and reducing the number of special education aides employed through outside agencies.
Directors passed the $166.5 million budget with an 8-1 vote, with Director Sean McAndrew dissenting.
The districtâs financial recovery plan calls for raising taxes to the maximum allowed by the state each year. With a tax increase of 3.9%, or 5.4 mills, the owner of a property assessed at $10,000 would pay an additional $54 next year. A mill is a $1 tax on every $1,000 of assessed property value. The districtâs total millage rate will rise to 143 mills.
Nadine Zaccheo thought she found her dream job teaching third grade at Scrantonâs John F. Kennedy Elementary School six years ago. She loved her students and knew she made a difference in their lives.
But, her yearly salary of $41,288 forced her to work a second job as a tutor to pay the bills and even fund supplies for her classroom. She came home exhausted each night and unsure when, or if, she and other Scranton teachers would receive a raise.
In June, she made the decision to accept a job in the Delaware Valley School District, where she makes an additional $20,000 a year â more than some of her former Scranton colleagues earn who have taught in the city for nearly 20 years.