District 86 Clerical Staff Unhappy: Employee

HINSDALE, IL — It's usually unions that make public complaints on behalf of employees. But the clerical employees at Hinsdale Central and South high schools are not unionized. One of them recently told a school board committee that she wanted to air the group's concerns.

On Feb. 4, administrative assistant Tracy Marshall spoke before the board's human resources committee, according to the meeting minutes. She told the members that administrative assistants feel there is a lack of communication and a lack of appreciation for them as a group. They were happy with their situations, she said, until staffing changes were made at the end of last school year.

At a meeting last June, Marshall noted the assistants said their concerns were compensation, dental costs and a disparity in compensation. In response, officials made a number of suggestions, including:

• Reward assistants for skills.
• Update job descriptions, so as to justify compensation for particular positions.
• Consider evaluating assistants.
• Increase pay based on classes for proficiency.

According to the minutes from the Feb. 4 meeting, Marshall said she wanted to address the longevity bonuses recently given to assistants.

"While we understand that we are nonunion employees and do not have the contracted right to negotiate, we would have appreciated the ability to know what progress was being made up to the time that the longevity bonus-stipend was presented to us," Marshall said. "Now that the decision has been made, we have addressed with (the human resources officer) the questions of why one has to put in 24 hours of professional development to earn a longevity stipend and why is that option not available to all nonunion support staff."

Marshall requested the board have more discussion about the assistants' request from last June to have a more balanced pay scale.

"We feel that there really has not been any attention paid to the additional workload each of us was required to take on," she said. "We received no training on the added responsibilities."

Board member Keith Chval thanked Marshall for speaking.

"The effort is there and the intention is there to treat employees with respect, and we appreciate what you do for our staff and students," he said.

Patch has left a message for comment with Superintendent Tammy Prentiss.