GUILDERLAND — After being at impasse, the teachers’ aids at Guilderland now have a six-year contract that gives them an average salary increase of 3.98 percent per year.

The school board recently ratified the contract that runs from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2010.
The former contract expired on June 30, 2004. "So, in a sense, this is a six-year contract, covering 2004-05 retroactively," said Susan Tangorre, the district’s director of human resources.

Talks had begun with a different human resources director, John Sole, and a different negotiator for the aides, she said.
"It was a transition for both the union and the district," said Tangorre. "They were at an impasse. I said, ‘Hey, why don’t we just sit down and chat"’"

So the negotiators met informally rather than going to arbitration and negotiations reopened in January of 2005, said Tangorre.

The Guilderland Teacher Aides, which has about 50 members, is affiliated with the National Education Association of New York. The unit president is Shirley Carpinello.

Many of the aides and monitors are part-time workers, some working as few as two hours a day. Some are cafeteria monitors, others are front-door greeters, still others are hall monitors.
"These folks support our students in non-academic settings," said Tangorre. "They are the only group of people that see every child every day; we’re assuming everyone eats lunch every day," she said with a chuckle.
Tangorre went on, "They spend a lot of hands-on time with the students and with the public."
Asked what the major sticking points had been, Tangorre said, "As it often is, it’s about money...and about making people feel that they’re valued."
She went on, "Unfortunately, we can’t always give people as much money as we would like or they would like."

The aides and monitors are paid on a 15-step system, with new workers starting on the first, lowest-paid step. An aide who works five hours a day at step 1 in the current year earns $7.69 an hour, which would be $7,459 for the year, Tangorre said.

At the other end of the scale, the most senior workers, on step 15, would earn $12,163 this year, working the same five hours a day, she said.

Those who work 20 hours a week or more also qualify for health-insurance benefits.
Relative to other comparable school districts, Tangorre said, the Guilderland wages are "below the average."
The new contract, for the first time, offers "loyalty incentives," said Tangorre.

As a first-time incentive, a worker who has been with the district a year and comes back for a 13th month gets a $200 bonus. After three years, there is also another bonus, for $400, for the 37th month, she said.
"I know it’s not much, but it’s a thank-you for staying with us," said Tangorre.
Asked about other changes in the contract, Tangorre said there is a change in the use of personal days. Workers are granted five personal-leave days a year, as distinguished from sick days. Under the new contract, Tangorre said, "If you don’t use those days, it would allow you to roll them over to sick days....In the end, if you stay with the district for 12 years, it’s an incentive at retirement that allows [payment for] the accumulation of days."
Asked if there is a shortage of or demand for aides and monitors, Tangorre said, "There really is....How many people want to come to work two or three hours a day every day in the middle of the day""
She said the state makes no educational requirements for aides or monitors. "There’s no academic piece at all," said Tangorre, adding that, at Guilderland, "Certainly, we’re looking for people with a high school diploma."
She concluded of the district’s aides and monitors, "Some people just really like kids and want to be here. I’m amazed at how loyal some people are."