THE CROTON CHRONICLE---MEDIATION BETWEEN CROTON-HARMON SCHOOL AIDES AND DISTRICT OFFICIALS BEGINS ON MONDAY---HOW DID WE GET TO THIS IMPASSE?

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Michael Balter

Mediation between Croton-Harmon school aides and district officials begins on Monday. How did we get to this impasse?

The Chronicle publishes a guide to the breakdown of contract talks between the two sides. The aides have been working without a new contract for nearly seven months.

Jean Avolio has worked for the Croton-Harmon school district for 19 years. She is also president of the Aides of Croton United (ACU), the collective bargaining unit for Teacher Aides, Lunch Monitors, and Food Service Helpers in the district’s three schools. She and others organized the ACU nine years ago to represent the lowest paid workers in Croton’s school system, a group of nearly 60 employees. The current contract with the district went into effect July 1, 2021. It expired last June 30.

Despite months of negotiations, the ACU and the district have not been able to agree on a new contract. On Monday January 13 at 3 pm, the dispute will go before a mediator. The first session will be held at the Croton-Harmon district offices on Gerstein Street.

In 2023, Avolio went to the district three times asking for financial help for the ACU’s members, “because we were all struggling.” MORE AT Mediation between Croton-Harmon school aides and district officials begins on Monday. How did we get to this impasse?