Compensation raised for intervention specialists

by Sheldon Ocker

Jan. 9 board of education organizational meeting/work session

Two new members of the Revere Schools Board of Education were sworn in by Treasurer Rick Berdine as family members looked on.

Natalie Rainey and Kasha Brackett won election in November, replacing long-time incumbents Claudia Hower a Diana Sabisch.

Courtney Stein, appointed by the board in March 2023 to complete the term of Mike Kahoe, who left for a job in Columbus, won election for the first time in November and also was sworn in.

In two unanimous votes, Keith Malick was re-elected president of the board and Stein was elected vice president.

Board members were assigned by Malick to the following committees: Malick and Brackett to Finance and Audit, Stein and Hayden Hajdu to Facilities and Grounds, Rainey and Stein to Policy and Hajdu to Athletic Hall of Fame.

Business as usual

Every January, the board is charged with renewing membership in educational associations and re-affirming district policies.

Consequently, the board-certified district-wide enrollment at 2,891 students, as of October 2023 and established a service fund of $7,500 to defray expenses of board members incurred in the conduct of their duties.

The board appointed Brackett as liaison to the Ohio School Boards Association for 2024.

Annual dues of $9,450 for membership in OSBA were approved by the  board as were dues of $250 for membership in OSBA’s Legal Assistance Fund, which helps boards involved in statewide legal issues, particularly at the appellate level.

Meeting the competition

Superintendent Michael Tefs asked the board to ratify a memorandum of understanding that would raise the compensation of intervention instructional assistants.

Tefs told the board that hiring these aides had become more difficult because Revere’s pay scale had fallen behind.

“That led us to do a market analysis … [and] we made a recommendation to increase their compensation to try to be more competitive in the market,” Tefs said.

The board approved the MOU, giving the two types of intervention instructional assistants a raise. The base pay for intervention instructional assistants will rise from $14.64 per hour to $17 per hour. Base pay for intensive needs aides will rise from $14.64 to $18.50 per hour. ∞