Furloughed Staff Members Attend Moon School Board Meeting

Thunderstorms and power outages that cut short the meeting Monday night didn't stop district aides from attending the meeting in hopes of learning more about the future of their jobs. 

Support staff members crowded the Moon Area High School atrium and waited outside the building's administrative office lobby where the board met after power went out in the school's meeting room. 

The district 19 support staff members and eight cafeteria workers June 30, the day the five-year contract expired between the district and the Educational Support Professionals Association/Pennsylvania State Education Association. 

Those positions will be re-opened in a bidding process today, according to the district. 

District spokeswoman Megan Edwards said because of stipulations in the union's contract with the district, positions must first be eliminated and the re-opened for bid. Staff members can place bids based on seniority. 

Edwards told Patch earlier this month that 10 kitchen positions will be added this school year and 16 support staff positions will be re-opened for bids.

Crescent resident Eric Tierney attempted to ask the board a question regarding the furloughs, but he was stopped because the issue did not appear on the agenda. 

Union president Karen Neptune said she could not comment on the bidding process.

"I think a lot of the people here, in addition to being concerned about their jobs, are just a part of the community and want to know more about what's going on," Neptune said of the 40 to 50 people who attended the meeting to support the furloughed workers.

The board conducted an abbreviated meeting Monday night due to power outages in the high school meeting room, which is not equipped with a back-up generator. The board moved its meeting to the administrative office lobby and passed agenda items in a single motion with limited discussion.