O’Connell Calls for Cost-Effective HR Dept to Save Worcester Money

Monday, July 27, 2015

GoLocalWorcester News Team

On Friday, Worcester School Committee member Brian O'Connell filed an item that would ultimately merge the Worcester Public Schools Human Resources Department with the HR department of the City of Worcester.

The item, "To discuss with the City of Worcester a possible merger of the Human Resources Departments of the City and of the Worcester Public Schools, or of a sharing of a single Human Resources Director, or of other Human Resources staff," was filed well ahead of the next School Committee meeting scheduled for August 20.

According to O'Connell, "With the current vacancy in the leadership of the Human Resources Department of the Worcester Public Schools, we have an ideal opportunity to look at other cost-effective options for handling our Human Resources functions. I propose that we work cooperatively with City leadership to see whether a merger of our respective HR departments could produce a streamlined, effective and efficient model of Human Resources operations for City Hall and for the Worcester Public Schools, with a significant cost savings to taxpayers."

The former WPS HR Director, Stacey DeBoise Luster, left the school system in June to take an administrative role with Worcester State University. Mark Brophy, the current Director of Instructional Support Personnel in the WPS HR department, will serve as the interim human resources manager.

"Rarely do we have such ideal opportunities as we do now to look at a key administrative function, and to restructure it with as view to operational coordination and efficiency," added O'Connell. "As a school system, we should explore all viable options to share resources with our municipal counterparts, and a careful study of our Human Resources functions, with this goal in mind, is a timely and logical step now."