Head Start agency's memo says it's time to lobby City HallC
Source: Ken Rodriguez, Express-News (TX), 02/17/2008 10:39 PM CST
The CEO of the nonprofit agency that runs Head Start didn't like what she heard during a recent meeting with city leaders. Dennis Campa, the city's director of Community Initiatives, said Parent/Child, Inc. failed to staff Head Start classrooms with the required number of teachers. City Councilwoman Diane Cibrian said some PCI administrators earn salaries 60 percent to 110 percent above average market value.
....... A member of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, Gonzalez-Shaw said, "Our contract guarantees modest wage increases of between 8 and 15 cents for employees like teachers, teacher's assistants and bus drivers, many of whom earn between $6 and $8 per hour. "To date, PCI has refused to honor these modest pay increases, arguing that Head Start regulations prevent them from paying 'significantly higher than the average wage.' "
Interesting. An agency that refuses to reduce the above-average-market salaries of administrators refuses to grant an 8-cent raise for low-level employees. How's that for a talking point? PCI squeezes pennies from its poor.