By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Teacher assistants employed by the Freehold Township K- 8 School District received support from residents amid concerns those positions will be outsourced to an education services organization.
The issue was discussed during the Board of Education meeting on April 26.
The residents said their concerns were prompted by board members going into executive (closed) session during an April 12 meeting for the purpose of discussing pending or anticipated contract negotiations.
According to the board’s agenda from April 12, the executive session involved contract negotiations with the Monmouth Ocean Educational Services Commission (MOESC) and the Freehold Township Education Association (FTEA).
Board members had considered hiring teacher assistants through the MOESC for the 2015-16 school year, but opted not to make the move following further consideration and public opposition to the plan. Teacher assistants in Freehold Township are currently employees of the school district.
During the discussion a year ago, Superintendent of Schools Ross Kasun said using the MOESC to provide new teacher assistants would save about $22,000 per person. He said district administrators would still control the process of who was recruited, hired and trained as a teacher assistant.
During the April 26 meeting, residents spoke in favor of the teacher assistants and against outsourcing their positions to the MOESC.
“The teacher assistants are obviously not here for the money,” said Kerry Vendittoli, who has a son with special needs. “The commitment they have given so far, the years they have put into making our kids and our schools better should not have a price tag. These women and men have literally poured blood, sweat and tears into our school district and our children.”
Vendittoli is the co-president of the Parent Advisory Council for Excellence (PACE), an organization for parents and guardians whose children have special needs.
Residents whose children do not have special needs spoke in support of the teacher assistants.
Margaret Popa said that through the assistance teacher assistants provide, they are able to encourage all students in a classroom to learn. She said she saw a teacher assistant help a student with Down syndrome when the youngster did not want to go to school.
One student who attends school in Freehold Township praised the teacher assistants for the help they provide to his sister, who has Down syndrome.
Residents were concerned about how the teacher assistants hired through the MOESC would perform.
“Have you taken into consideration the potential for our school district to be a featured story on the news, not because of one of our achievements, but because of a situation where an under-qualified teacher assistant incorrectly or illegally uses a restraint on a child?” Vendittoli said. “Because that is what can happen. That is a possibility when you bring in low wage, unqualified workers who are not invested in our children, our town or our schools.”
Kasun said Freehold Township’s superintendent would be in charge of teacher assistants who are hired through the MOESC and he said if they perform below what is required of them, they would be let go.
Responsibilities of the special education teacher assistant position, according to a job description provided by the district, include providing supplementary support to assist the needs of students with disabilities, and reinforcing personal, social, behavioral and academic goals. The teacher assistants also help with the use of adaptive equipment or devices, eating, dressing, personal care and bathroom use.
Board President Christopher Marion said there is no contract before the board and he said no decision regarding the teacher assistants had been made as of April 26.
The News Transcript’s request for additional information – the number of teacher assistants employed by the district, the salary range for teacher assistants and the amount of money budgeted for teacher assistants in 2015-16 and 2016-17 – was not answered by district administrators.