ADAMS TWP — More than 75 people implored the Mars School Board not to hire a subcontractor to supply secretaries, paraprofessionals and custodians and were so passionate about their stance that three individuals recommended raising taxes.

The crowd was made up of teachers, parents, community members, former employees and support staff members.

The meeting room and lobby at the Mars administration office were jammed on Tuesday night with those who said they want their familiar, trustworthy and committed support personnel to remain employed in the Mars School District, and many shared their views with the school board during two public comment sessions.

Vicki Stenner, who has taught second grade at Mars for 22 years, called the custodians “an omnipresent security force” for teachers who come to work early and stay late.

She said if contracted custodians who are unknown to the teachers were hired, most teachers would stop working outside of the confines of the school day.

“You would lose the multitude of volunteer hours our teachers give each day,” Stenner said.

She said she has seen custodians build platforms under the desks of the district's smallest students whose feet cannot touch the floor, and “go Dumpster diving in search of lost retainers.”

Others said the school board cares more about the potential savings of $1.8 million gained by outsourcing support jobs than the students.

Still others blanched at the board's vote to pay MHY Family Services more than $780,000 for 17 acres the district is taking by eminent domain to place soccer fields instead of investing the money in the support staff.

Three people said since there has not been a tax increase in the district in a decade, the board should consider a one-time tax bump to keep the support personnel in place.

But the school board's collective bargaining negotiator, attorney Tom Breth, said after the meeting that the public does not understand the financial problem.

Breth said the support staff union wants all new support employees to get the compensation package from the June 30, 2012, contract that had the district paying health care benefits up to $18,000 for family coverage, the required state pension contribution for each employee, plus regular raises.

He said half the current support staff came after that compensation package expired with the expiration of the previous contract June 30, 2015. The employees have been working under the terms of that expired contract ever since.

“In 2012, both parties acknowledged that that compensation package was not sustainable,” Breth told those in attendance on Tuesday night.

He said the compensation package agreed upon for the current contract must be a part of the collective bargaining agreement.

Ways to avoid the subcontracting of support positions, Breth said, is for both sides to compromise and come up with a fair contract.

The school board voted 8-1, with Steve Boggs dissenting, to reject for the second time an August report from a state fact finder. That means both sides will return to collective bargaining.

Breth said the board has taken into consideration all of the concerns brought up on Tuesday night.

“We hope to have a bargaining session scheduled by the end of the month,” he said.

Breth said last month and confirmed on Tuesday that he feels it would be easier to nail down an agreement with the secretaries and paraprofessionals because the district would not stand to save as much if those positions were subcontracted.

He said the district could save $1 million by outsourcing the custodial positions only.

The Mars Area Education Support Professionals union includes 87 secretaries, paraprofessionals and custodians.