Instructional assistant urges board to restore full‑time positions and benefits; board discusses staffing and outsourcing

During the public‑comment period, Susan Suter, an instructional assistant at Neshaminy High School since 2004, urged the board to convert more instructional assistant roles to full‑time positions with benefits.

Suter said the district has outsourced some positions and shifted former full‑time roles to part‑time openings that do not include benefits. She told the board she briefly moved into a full‑time posting while a colleague was on medical leave and paid $142 for medical coverage during that period instead of the usual $925 she pays when not in full‑time status, and she said the district has kept outsourced staff who, she alleged, did not actively support students in the classroom. "We are losing good employees," she said, and warned she might seek work outside the district if full‑time positions were not available.

Board members subsequently approved three additional instructional‑aide training days for the 2023–24 school year and wage adjustments for instructional aides and groundskeepers, citing committee recommendations, collective‑bargaining provisions and recruitment challenges. The board's actions were part of a broader set of personnel and wage votes the board approved that it said were intended to retain staff and improve service to students.

The board did not adopt a specific plan on converting positions to full time during the meeting; the changes approved were wage adjustments and additional training days for instructional aides, and the public comment will remain part of the record for future staffing discussions.