School Board Approves Salary Increases

After a lengthy executive session, the Enfield Board of Education voted Tuesday evening to update the job descriptions of non-union employees in central office and increased the salaries of six employees in line with the new job descriptions.

Following tense discussion, the measure passed by a 6-3 margin.

On the live TV broadcast, Chairman Greg Stokes said the Board asked the administration to update the job descriptions for the employees and asked for salary ranges from comparable school districts. The job descriptions had not been updated since the 1970s.

Stokes voiced his support for the increases based on the findings of the updates. “That's how I make my decision,” he said. “It was time to update the descriptions and align the salaries with the descriptions.”

The total increase for all six positions is a little under $20,000.

Several members voiced objections to the increases. Peter Jonaitis said while he appreciated the job the employees were doing, he couldn't see making the increases all at once and suggested a step system over a period of several years.

“To bring in this amount of increase when we already cut a position at JFK Middle School in guidance, I just can't see doing this right now,” Jonaitis said.

In a rebuttal to Jonaitis' argument, Judy Apruzzese-Desroches said the layoff has nothing to do with the description updates and salary increases. “You cannot not fix A, because B is broken, I don't see them as part of the same issue,” she said. She furthermore believed that the salary increases were deserved because the updated job descriptions were a reflection of the work the employees were already doing, and the increase was only catching up with the additional work.

Tom Sirard said while he agreed the descriptions had to be updated, and even salaries increased, he was not comfortable with the size of the increases. “I am looking at the bigger picture,” he said.

His position was echoed by Vice Chairman Charles Johnson, who noted the size of the increases averaged more than 6 percent to the employees, with the top increase being nearly 11 percent. “We are talking about being in dire straits for money, and it looks like next year might be worse,” he said.

In other business, the board voted unanimously to approve the busing contract with the E F Smyth Bus Company, Inc. “Smyth Busing is the safest company in the state of Connecticut, they have the record for safety. Mr. Smyth has been a tremendous neighbor and a very helpful partner with the Board of Education,” Sirard said.