On Thursday, Newtown Schools Superintendent Janet Robinson reported a 22% pay increase for a special education and data clerk position were not grounded in fact.
Robinson reported that a letter distributed by Joanne Didonato, president of the Newtown Federation of Educational Personnel, as well as emails that Patch received from other sources, were based on information that had not been presented to the superintendent before being submitted to the media.
The information received by Patch stated that two employees had received pay increases. The position for the special education position, was slated to be a 22% increase.
While the amount was approved by Human Resources, Robinson said she had never been approached about the information. "I did not find out about the increase until a board member called me. I was blindsided by this," she said.
Robinson explained, “A supervisor recommended a reclassification of a data clerk position and another because of the increase in filing of special education reports. The position hadn’t been reevaluated in some time, and it went through HR. A monetary value was put on it, but it has not been approved. I am not putting it forward at this time. There will be no action.”
Robinson said that she was disheartened that the rumors had already got into other news sources and newspapers. Citing the email from Joanne Didonato, president of the Newtown Federation of Educational Personnel (secretaries/clerical/tech), Robinson said, “She didn’t go through the proper channels.”
In Wednesday’s email, Didonato wrote that “a situation has come to my attention that I feel necessary to share with the voters of Newtown. Although I objected that one of the salary increases was double digit, the administration went ahead and awarded the reclassification and a substantial salary increase.”
According to Robinson, the increase may have been approved by the Human Resources, but it will not be approved by the superintendent.
