Little is resolved as negotiations continue
To see the rules for the open contract negotiations, click here; to see our Session 2 recap, click here; Session 3 is here; Session 4 here; Session 5 here; Session 6 here; Session 7 is here; and Session 8 is here. A copy of the current teachers contract is here, and the ESP (education support personnel) contract is here.
Find the School Committee informational page here, and the TTA contract information page here. And of course you can watch all the sessions on the Tewksbury TV YouTube channel.
Tentative agreements were reached on some items at this week’s meeting. First the district changed the language in regard to ESPs stepping up to substitute for teachers, to read that they ask for volunteers and will assign someone only in the case of an emergency. The TTA has agreed to this language.
The district agreed to the removal of language about teacher prep time not being included in the 20 minutes before or 20 minutes after school. And the TTA’s counter proposal for working conditions for Academic Coaches was accepted.
There continue to be counterproposals and conversations about many of the outstanding issues, and there has been movement on many items. However, there are still a few issues where there is a lot of daylight between the TTA and the district.
Elementary school teachers are still looking for more prep time. Their original proposal was for two half days per month for K-4 prep time, and one half day per month for PLC (professional learning community) prep time, for a potential 27 extra half days per year for lower elementary grades.
The district rejected this proposal saying students would lose too much learning time with these additional 1/2 days. Per DESE requirements, elementary students must have 900 hours of leaning time over 180 days per school year.
The district originally proposed an 8 hour work day, up from the current 7.5 hour work day to accommodate the extra needed prep time. The TTA strongly rejected this. The district countered with an additional 6.5 days for just K-4 for prep time. The TTA appreciates this extra time but they still feel that they need more time weekly, and the extra half days are not enough. They say there are other districts that have 180-day years but manage to have half days every week. They have asked the district to reach out to these other districts to see how they are accomplishing this goal.
Residents can watch the full session here.
School start and end times are another ongoing conversation.
In order to work out some of the issues with buses still arriving late, the district is looking to move school hours. That proposal would have the Ryan and Center Schools have the same start and stop time. This would push the Heath Brook and Dewing back 20 minutes. The TTA says this does not seem like a long time, but they believe it will have a negative impact on students who are already tired at the end of the day. And it would make it more difficult for teachers to make it to pick up their own children or see their afternoon sports games. They wondered if all start times could be pushed back 20 minutes, but the district doesn’t want to have the high school starting any earlier because studies show earlier start times are detrimental for high-school students
Salaries for both the ESPs and teachers are also a sticking point with very little movement.
The TTA came in asking for a large salary increase, which they consider a living wage. The district came back with a more modest increase, which they say is fair and reasonable. The TTA is standing on the ground that the district is offering a salary below poverty wages and that even though it’s a 7 hour per day, 184 day work year, this is a full time job, and the district’s offer is not acceptable. Both offers are linked below.
District Proposal (scroll to third page)
As for teacher salaries, the TTA came in asking for an 8% raise each year for the three years of the contract. The district first proposed a 3.5% increase the first year of the contract for Steps 1 though 4 and a 3% increase for Steps 5 through 10, then a 3% increase the next two years, but an expanded 8 hour day. Since those first proposals, the TTA has dropped their first year increase to 7%, and the district has dropped the extended day but held at the percent increases.
The district is standing on the point that they are offering the best salaries they can within the budget they have to work with and have attempted to prioritize money going into salaries and stipends for the benefit of staff. It was also noted how the School Committee worked with the town to put forward at Town Meeting warrant articles to help fund the Ryan and Wynn HVAC systems and the needed Heath Brook repairs. The TTA did ask that even if the current budget is in place, perhaps there could be increases over the next two years since those budgets haven’t been created yet.
There appears to be a desire to continue to hash out the hard issues, with School Committee member Rich Russo asking at the end of the meeting what the priorities are, since the TTA came in with a long list of proposals this cycle, and wondering how they could reach an end point in the negotiations.
TTA member Josh Bilodeau shared they had so many proposals because many things have not been addressed over the years in negotiations. More than one member conceded they did not envy the position of the School Committee members.
The next negotiation is May 29.
The TTA will hold a community outreach session on May 21. You can register with the QR code below.
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