AUBURN - A group of Auburn Enlarged City School District support staff will see an increase in their paychecks for the next year, but one board member is objecting to the amount.

During Tuesday's meeting, the board of education voted 8-1 in favor of giving support staff that are not associated with a union, a raise during the fiscal year that begins July 1. Board member Joe Leogrande, while praising the work these staff members perform, disagreed with the percentage of the raises, ranging from just more than 4.2 percent to 7 percent.

“These comments certainly don't diminish what these people do,” Leogrande said. “I think they all deserve a raise. I am just opposed to the amount.”

He said these raises are much more than other bargaining units receive, and it is more than district teachers asked for during the Auburn Teachers Association's negotiations with the district on a new contract. The previous contract expired June 30, 2008.

“I also believe the teachers deserve a contract,” he added. “I think we have to think about this as a board. I don't think it's equitable to give people a raise this high until we settle with the teachers.”

Board member Michael Stearns responded by saying there have been years when the support staff didn't receive a raise. This is evident most recently with this current fiscal year ending next week. Under the state-mandated contingency budget, district employees not part of a bargaining unit were not entitled to raises.

Stearns said if the raises were averaged out across the years the staff members didn't receive raises, it would be considerably less than what the district pays to every other bargaining unit. He added the district pays its support staff less than their counterparts in other districts in the area.

Board member Bill Andre said he understands the district needs to settle with the teachers.

“I certainly understand what Joe's saying,” he said. “The teachers do deserve a contract and need a contract. It does concern me when they are past due. But I don't think you hold back raises from people as dedicated as the confidential secretaries ... I think we can't hold them accountable for us not settling a contract with the ATA.”

In other news:

* President Charlie Cator and Vice President Sam Giangreco both announced intentions to run for re-election as board leadership.

When Cator was elected president a year ago, he promised to bridge the communication gap between the board and the community by way of hosting public forums for the public to voice their opinions on school matters. The board hosted four forums, three on the district's 2009-10 budget, something Cator credits for the budget passing with overwhelming support. He said he wants to continue that.

* The next board meeting, which will be the reorganizational meeting, is slated for 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 1, at the Harriet Tubman Administration Building, 78 Thornton Ave., Auburn.

Staff writer Alyssa Sunkin can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 239 or alyssa.sunkin@lee.net