Technical Services ESP --
Building a Quality Workforce

21st Century Challenges for Technical Services ESP

Privatization Is Not the Answer

Privatization is a cut in services to the community by the school district. It creates a disconnected, transient, and non-resident group of workers who are usually poorly paid and not committed to the school district or the community as a whole. Privatization directly contradicts the concept of building a Quality Workforce. When work in a school district is awarded to the lowest bidder everyone loses. In the case of Technical Services ESP it is especially true that "you get what you pay for," both in personnel and equipment.

Boards of Education threaten privatization to achieve certain bargaining and public relations goals, to claim falsely that they have cut costs, or simply to union-bust. Often the BOE and the community know very little about the essential contributions Technical Services ESP provide. Technical Services ESP are being threatened with privatization all over the country, with 80% reporting anxiety over the possibility of being privatized.

A majority of Technical Services ESP live in their school districts, work in their school districts, and vote in their school districts. According to the latest NEA survey, on average, a Technical Services ESP has lived in the school district where he/she works for 26 years. Well over one-third have their own children in the school system. They are the resident roots of the neighborhood school.

Technical Services ESP must actively educate administrations and communities in order to fight privatization. The first best step is to develop results-oriented job descriptions that are an accurate, comprehensive, and meaningful reflection of all that they do.

Promotion Opportunities

Promotion opportunities are a particular problem in the Technical Services ESP job family. According to the NEA ESP survey, Technical Services ESP report that promotion opportunities are virtually non-existent. This generally occurs because administrations don't understand the services ESP provide. Most administrations think that "a Tech is a Tech is a Tech."

School management tends to have tunnel vision regarding technology support. "Is it fixed?" and "When will it be working?" are the only questions they care about, not how was it done or who did it or what training and expertise was needed.

Technical Services ESP must continually educate their administrations regarding the complexity and diversity of the skills they use. They must teach their own Locals to advocate for them. They must actively participate in the development of contract content or nonbargaining agreements that recognize them, define them, and provide opportunities for promotion. They must continually assert through contract negotiations or non-bargaining process that "levels of skills" as well as "diversity of skills" applies to them as much as to any other job family.

The Gap Between Skills Required and Salary Paid

While Technical Services ESP often learn some things on the job, most of the services they perform require very specific training, skills, and certifications. Their salaries, however, often are not commensurate with their level of skills. And in many cases, the Technical Services ESP must pay for hardware or software training programs out of his/her own pocket.

Technical Services ESP must be tenacious about informing administrations that their jobs require particular skills and specific and constant training. The fact that technology support and service must be "of the moment" shouldn't be a hard concept to grasp in this day and age. Administrations should recognize the need for training and then appropriately compensate employees for their expertise. Knowledge, training, and certification should equal better pay.

Night Shift Back-Up Work

Security on school campuses has increased and improved dramatically since Columbine and September 11th. Unfortunately, some districts still do not properly address personal security issues for night shift employees. For Technical Services ESP this is a growing and serious problem. Often they are required to be alone in buildings in order to back-up systems after students and staff have gone home.

Given the existing environment, any plan designed to protect students and staff during school hours should extend to protection for employees working alone and at night. Has the district provided security training for Technical Services ESP? Has the district appropriately included Technical Services ESP in the "Intruder Response Plan"? Does the district provide equipment for individuals working alone, such as cell phones, secure land lines, emergency and medical contacts, and an escape plan should it be necessary?

Support, Training, Equipment, Supplies -- Resources

Administrations have a long way to go to provide the resources -- training, information, updated computers, state-of-the-art hardware and software, safety equipment, and more and better parts and supplies -- Technical Services ESP need to do their jobs. One of the biggest challenges Technical Services ESP face is getting Boards of Ed to really embrace technology with money and equipment, and not just pay it lip service. There's a big difference between what they say and what they actually buy. And as technology changes daily, Technical Services ESP simply don't have enough resources and/or time to keep up. Even under these circumstances, however, they continue to skillfully and competently provide the service and expertise needed in our public schools on a daily basis.

To Section 8: Health & Safety -- Protecting the Individual Employee