Generous teachers provide payday for Bronxville aides

Teachers chipped in to provide a payday for aides in the wake of flood closures in Bronxville schools.
The nor?easter that savaged the East Coast in April caused flooding that closed Bronxville schools for two weeks. That time was used to allow for cleaning and drying out. Every other school employee was paid for the missed time, except for the aides, who only received a week?s pay.
According to the contract the aides have with the district, the school system is only required to pay out one day of pay during any emergency.
?We have exceeded the contract?we did a compromise of what the contract said and what the teacher?s aides ideally wanted,? District Superintendent Dr. David Quattrone said in a statement.
However, the impact of losing a week of salary was not lost on the Bronxville teaching staff. They donated money to raise $11,000, enough to pay each aide $300. The checks were issued directly from the faculty to the aides Friday.
Jeff Zuckerman, head of the Bronxville Teachers Union, said, ?Teachers totally respect the aides, and they know they can?t do their job without them, and this was their way of saying thank you?.
District officials maintain their offer to pay one week was fair.