SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — An ed tech serving in South Portland elementary schools since 2000 is suing the district, claiming it does not pay her or her peers for all of their time at work.
The lawsuit — filed Monday on behalf of Tracy Tannoia — claims South Portland has paid Tannoia and 150 other current and former ed techs a pre-determined daily wage when, in fact, their normal duties have them working beyond that; all for no additional money.
Tannoia’s attorney, Peter Mancuso, hopes a judge will accept his petition to try this case as a class-action suit, allowing others to join as co-plaintiffs. He wrote in the lawsuit that Tannoia and the ed techs she's spoken with typically deal with an extra unpaid hour or two each week for each teacher. However, Mancuso told NEWS CENTER Maine that it all adds up.
“When you extrapolate this across a large number of people, you’re talking an extra 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there; adding up to maybe 45 minutes to an hour or two hours in a given week,” he said. “But extrapolate that across 150 people over the course of the year, and you’re talking hundreds upon hundreds of hours of otherwise free labor.”
On Tuesday, Superintendent Tim Matheney told NEWS CENTER Maine the district had not been served the complaint and was not in a position to respond to allegations.
Meanwhile, Maine Education Association President Grace Leavitt would not talk about the South Portland lawsuit specifically but explained how she has watched teachers and support staff across Maine organize to demand better pay and respect in the industry.
"We've seen an increased number of people leave the profession and fewer that want to enter it. And a huge part of that is the compensation," Leavitt said.
"Teaching is the profession that makes all other professions possible," she added later. "So, to have this profession not more valued by our communities is very disheartening."
With the suit filed on Monday, and Matheney's office not having received a copy as of Tuesday night, Mancuso said there is a long road ahead for this case.