Secretaries, Custodial Staff Express Concerns Over Peekskill School Budget

Peekskill High School Custodian Fred Vanca doesn’t merely consider himself an employee of the district.

Like many of his colleagues, he said he considers an active members of the community.

But he believes that connection will be severed if the district moves forward with plans to outsource three custodial positions at the Uriah Hill Elementary School for its $78.4 million budget proposal.

“Probably 90 percent, or better, of us live in Peekskill,” Vanca said during Tuesday’s school board meeting. “Our children all go to school...and we’ve graduated from Peekskill believe it or not. We’re Peekskill oriented to begin with—you get more than workers, you get people who are committed to the district. That are loyal to the district. Have pride in what they doe because this is their district. This is where they live. You bring in an outside company, they’re not going to care.”

Union representatives for the district’s custodial and secretarial staff spoke up during the meeting about the impact the district’s budget proposal will have on their ability to perform. In addition to the outsourcing, the district will require it’s secretaries to take one-month furloughs during the summer.

The moves are being made a time when the district was forced to close a $2 million budget gap just two months ago.

The $78,403,667 proposal adopted by the school board represents is $4,077,735, or 5.49 percent, more than this year’s budget.

The tax levy would increase by about 3.43 percent to $37,431,286, which is within the state’s mandated property tax cap. Residents would see their tax rates increase by 3.66 percent.

Barbara Borok, president of the district’s secretarial staff union, said the one-month furlough will hamper the ability of secretaries to transfer student files from grade to grade, building the master schedule, updating building systems, reduced lunch applications, emergency cards, etc.

“Who will take attendance for all teh custodians and the principals and who will answer the questions from all the parents?” Borok said. “And what about the summer league program? The list is endless and the task can be very time consuming.”

Borok also said the furlough isn’t covered under her group’s current contract and she questioned whether or not the furloughs were legal under the Taylor Law.

“The district has the legal obligation to continue our contract without changing the terms of our employment,” Borok said. “Frankly, cutting the pay for our members by a month is such a change.”

John Staino, president of Westchester Local 860, said custodial staff in the district has already made contract concessions and has been reduced from 40 members to 32. He believes the decision to outsource will end up hurting the district in the longrun."

"Think about it, a private company has to make a profit," Staino said. "So they make up the difference by offering Walmart wages," Staino said. "Even the most hardwarking of employees is eventually demoralized by the low wages and that's when our quality suffers. What seems like a bargain today, at the end of day winds up being more than you bargained for."

A public vote on the district's $78.4 million budget proposal is scheduled for May 21.