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BOCES therapist jobs on the chopping block Component districts make privatization moves
April 13, 2006 Physical therapist Debbie Sciortino helps Lorenzo Earthman stretch while Nathan Apotosky waits his turn at Martin Road Elementary School in Lackawanna. School physical therapists strive daily to help their students avoid losing muscle tone and movement. At Erie 1 BOCES in western New York , they've also been trying to avoid losing each other. At Erie 1, a staff of 22 physical therapists has been whittled to 15; occupational therapists, who once numbered close to 35, are now down to 15. Here, as in many of the state's 37 Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, these professionals are being replaced with therapists from private agencies, hired by individual school districts at cheaper rates. "For the last 10 years or so, our physical and occupational therapists have been laid off due to for-profit private practices underbidding BOCES for therapy services to the districts we serve in both BOCES and district classrooms," said Erie 1 physical therapist Deborah Sciortino of West Seneca, a member of the Erie 1 Professional Education Association. Schools from 20 component districts make up Erie 1 BOCES, and each district can choose a different private agency. As a result, BOCES teachers deal with a cadre of different occupational and physical therapists in their classrooms, coming from different districts that have contracted out to different agencies, Sciortino said. "We wind up working on stages, in locker rooms and at the ends of hallways," said Sciortino, who also worries about security and confidentiality, with so many therapists coming and going. "If a district's sending you to a BOCES class, you should have BOCES employees," said Sciortino, a 19-year veteran. "We have a lot of experience and have developed a lot of good programs. We've been working with children and our teachers for many years." Students treated by the team of physical therapists have needs ranging from head control to walking. Many are medically frail and multiply handicapped; others are developmentally delayed. Eva Mroczka, a member of NYSUT's BOCES Committee and a special education teacher at Erie 1 BOCES, said her colleague's concern goes far beyond western New York. "This isn't an Erie 1 issue for Debbie. She has been working for years, advocating on behalf of all the therapists in New York state," Mroczka said. New York State United Teachers has lobbied for legislation that would give school occupational and physical therapists and assistants the same rights as teachers, teaching assistants, teacher aides and substitutes — protecting their jobs from being contracted out to private agencies. Last year, the legislation passed both houses but was vetoed by Gov. Pataki. "Our NYSUT members work closely with the entire BOCES teams and pride themselves on the work they do for children," said Kathleen Donahue, vice president of NYSUT. "We want to make sure decisions are made on the basis of what's best for the students." The contracting-out issue remains high on the agenda of NYSUT's BOCES Committee, which has worked with the statewide union to lobby for the legislation. Committee members like Cliff Brosnan, a member of Saratoga-Adirondack BOCES Employees Association, know first-hand about the effects of privatization. With seven of his BOCES' 31 component districts now contracting with private agencies for therapy services, Brosnan can count the loss of six occupational therapists, three OT aides, a physical therapist and all five PT aides. "We had known about a couple of instances, but we hadn't put numbers on it before," Brosnan said. "So we were even shocked by the numbers once we saw them." — Liza Frenette and John Strachan |
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