Dear NPS Community Members,

In keeping with our pledge to provide timely updates on new developments throughout contract negotiations, we share the following:

Yesterday afternoon, the Newton Teachers Association called for a boycott of the August 30^th first day of work for educators Opening Day activities in posted materials on the NTA website and in statements to the Superintendent and her team. The Opening Day program included important professional learning and would have provided staff with an opportunity to welcome to our new Superintendent, Dr. Anna Nolin, at the start of her historic tenure as Newton’s first female superintendent.

Last night, due to the August 29^th directive from the NTA leadership to boycott the Opening Day activities and grave concern that a work stoppage by the NTA was imminent, the School Committee convened an emergency Executive Session.

This morning, much to our disappointment, we learned that the NTA followed through with the planned boycott and that a majority of our staff did not attend the professional development Opening Day activities at Newton South, as directed by the Superintendent. Thus, the School Committee will be filing a strike petition with the Massachusetts Department of Labor Relations to investigate the events that occurred. The strike investigation will not impede our commitment to working hard, collaboratively and in good faith within the state mediation process to reach a fair, mutually satisfactory and sustainable contract with our union. 

Without reservation, we have deep respect and appreciation for the professionalism and dedication of our educators and share their profound commitment to meeting the needs of our students. In that spirit, we have every expectation that school will start on September 5^th, without interruption. We hope that the first day for students is a joyous one for our kids, their families, and for our faculty and staff.  

Sincerely,

The Newton School Committee

August 22, 2023

Dear Newton School Community,

We write with an update on the collective bargaining process with the Newton Teachers Association (NTA).  

On July 20, the School Committee asked the state to appoint a mediator, which is a standard component of the state process for assisting school committees and teachers unions when they have reached an impasse in contract negotiations. Yesterday, the state Department of Labor Relations appointed a mediator. The School Committee looks forward to working with the mediator and the NTA as part of this state process to reach an agreement on a fair contract that allows Newton Public Schools to operate responsibly, effectively, and sustainably, while very appropriately valuing its educators and staff.

Now that the mediation process has begun, we expect the school year to begin on time on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. Our new Superintendent and her team have worked hard to create a welcoming and inclusive set of activities to kick off a new year at all school levels. The School Committee will continue to work with the NTA to encourage a minimum of disruption to the school day and students’ experiences.  

It is possible that you may notice some differences in the school buildings and classrooms as we open school in the midst of these contract negotiations. For example, you may see educators demonstrating outside the buildings before and after the contractual school day. These, and other actions, often occur when contract negotiations are ongoing and are within union rights to do so. We share this with you so that you are not surprised.

As you know from recent communication, the district is moving forward with the new elementary literacy curriculum. We expect continued progress in grades K, 1 and 2, as designed, and will be in communication with the superintendent to ensure the rollout is going smoothly in the first months of the school year. Should the NTA take action that would hinder this process, and such action is considered by the School Committee to be a work stoppage or slowdown, we will take appropriate action, as required by law.

We will continue to update the community periodically as we work together toward a new contract with our union partners.

Sincerely,

Newton School Committee

July 26, 2023

At the School Committee meeting last night, the negotiating team, comprised of SC members Tamika Olszewski, Kathy Shields, and Paul Levy, shared an update on the status of negotiations with the Newton Teachers Association (NTA.) The full memo can be found here:

Negotiations Update - July 25, 2023

Below is a summary of the memo:

Current Status

• The Newton School Committee has filed a petition with the state’s Department of Labor Relations for mediation. It is the School Committee’s position that after 10 months and 16 collective bargaining sessions, negotiations have reached an impasse. 

• The School Committee filed for mediation now in an effort to avoid disruption to this school year. We remain committed to finalizing a contract as close to the date of the expiration of the current contract as possible (August 31, 2023.)

Tentative Agreements (highlights)

• We have made significant progress on several items that the School Committee and the NTA agree will improve the working conditions for educators and will serve Newton students well. Highlights include:

• Enhancing parental leave benefits

• Expanding the use of sick days to care for a family member or dear friend

• Increasing tuition reimbursement for educators pursuing additional education or recertification

• Compensating teachers who substitute for colleagues who are absent in order to reduce class cancellations

Priorities

• Throughout the negotiations process, the School Committee has focused on the following priorities:

  • Maintain current educators and preserve existing staffing levels and programs. After two years of staff reductions, the School Committee seeks to preserve current staffing levels in order to maintain favorable class sizes, improve access to electives and arts programming, and provide more support in each classroom and building. 

  • Reach an agreement on compensation that is fair to educators, can be supported by the budget each year, and is financially sustainable over the life of the contract. 

Challenges

• The difference between the NTA’s and the School Committee’s proposals for “rate of pay” increases is currently insurmountable. The rate of pay includes a “step,” which is the percent increase provided automatically for each year of service, and the “COLA” (cost of living adjustment,) which is provided in addition to the “step.” 

  • For reference, NPS is currently one of the highest-paying school districts in the state, as shown in the data collected by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE.) 

    • Our teachers’ salaries (Unit A) are in the top third when compared to other nearby and comparable public school districts.  

    • Our paraprofessionals’ salaries (Unit C), especially our employees at the top step, are far higher than all of our nearby and comparable districts.  

• When the budget grows at a rate of more than 3.5% per year, the district is forced to seek additional sources of funding, such as an operating override, which voters rejected, or to make cuts in staff, programs and services.  

Next Steps

• The School Committee awaits response from the state on the request for mediation. 

• Should mediation move forward, it is not designed to be an adversarial process. The mediator ​​works with both parties to try to find a pathway to agreement.

• Should the state request additional collective bargaining sessions prior to implementing a mediation process, the School Committee will continue to negotiate in good faith, as it has done throughout this process.

• Despite public comments from the NTA on possible work stoppages, including lack of engagement in meetings and participation in paid trainings, the School Committee will continue to work with Dr. Nolin and her team to ensure a smooth start to the school year. We also seek to continue forward momentum on important initiatives such as the new elementary literacy curriculum, approved just this spring and scheduled for implementation this school year.

The Newton School Committee remains committed to settling a fair and sustainable contract for our educators. We hope that the involvement of state mediators will assist us in reaching an agreement that will avoid disruption to the school year. We will continue to keep you updated as the process progresses.

Sincerley,

Newton School Committee

Dear Newton Students, Parents and Caregivers:  

After many long months of negotiations with the Newton Teachers’ Association (NTA), we come to you with an update.  

Educator contracts contain provisions about union member pay, working conditions, benefits and rules.  Our current contract with the NTA expires on August 31, 2023.  Typically, negotiations with the union last a long time and are very complex; current negotiations have been ongoing for 9 months.  Media and community discussions often boil the negotiations down to “How big is the cost of living adjustment (COLA) the NTA will receive?” and  “How expensive are benefits?” However, there are many aspects of the contract that provide benefits to members that also have significant costs.  Further, changes made to contracts enhance the professional lives of teachers, protects their time and improves quality of working conditions.  

Many good ideas have been shared between the NTA, school administration and School Committee members.  We have made progress on the following areas, which are called “tentative agreements” around which NTA, administrators and School Committee agree that the items improve the profession and serve Newton’s children well:

• paying teachers who substitute teach for other absent teachers (vs. canceling classes)

• enhancing parental leave benefits

• increasing tuition reimbursement for staff pursuing additional education and recertification

• protecting Newton staff’s benefit to bring their own children to school in NPS

• providing a scale and mechanism for substitute coverage and substitute pay advancement

• providing avenues for paraprofessional pay advancement 

• enhancing retirement notice incentives

• clarifying work hours and work from home policies

• piloting expanded elementary preparatory time while studying how we can make further improvements to the elementary school day

• expanding the use of sick days for care of a family member or dear friend

• adding Juneteenth for all units as a holiday

• creating a teacher evaluation committee to revise current system

Each of these tentative agreements helps our staff and is a benefit to the education profession.  We are proud of moving toward these agreements with our union colleagues and partners.

However, as many of you know, challenging budgets have required us to cut valued positions and programs in each of the last two years.  We have been unable to come to agreement with the NTA  on the rate of future pay increases.  Despite many proposals and counter-proposals, we are very far apart—deeply far apart—in both how teachers are compensated when they increase their years of service by a year (step) and what they receive as a cost of living adjustment (COLA) on top of that.  

The students of Newton are our first priority.  Our role is to ensure a sustainable budget for the future that can support the district’s financial needs including compensation.  There is always a tension between the amount of staff we can retain and the increases for all staff within our budget.   One of our highest priorities is to preserve existing staffing levels and programs–doing so results in improved class sizes, more electives and arts programs, and more support to the average classroom and building; we also desire strong compensation for all of our staff.  

When a union/management/school committee team reaches an impasse, as we have now, school committees may file for mediation with the state.  The state then works with the parties to try to reach additional agreements.  If that is unsuccessful, the parties can go through additional defined steps.  We are at that point and have notified the NTA of our intention to file for mediation.  

However, it has been shared with us that the NTA is already planning work stoppages and actions  for the fall.  We are working with our new superintendent and her leadership team to do everything possible to ensure a smooth opening of school in September.  Our children have had too many disruptions in their schooling in recent years, and we aim to open the year with all the services, support, joy and academic seriousness students need and deserve.

We write to alert you that, depending on the dynamics and actions regarding work stoppage actions, the school year may need to be extended for students in order to meet the DESE expectations for 180 school days and 900 (elementary)/990 (secondary) hours of instruction for our students.  Families should plan that their children may have to attend school, depending on work stoppage impacts and potential snow days, up to June 30, 2024.

In addition, work stoppages and strikes are illegal in MA public schools, and the School Committee will have to file with the appropriate state commission regarding these actions.  School Committees have a statutory obligation to seek to prevent these illegal actions.

More changes may come as we learn about how work stoppage actions may occur.  We will be in touch frequently to update you on how this may impact you and your children.   The Committee will work with Superintendent Nolin and her team to contend with changes to student schedules, busing, coverage, food services and school closures which may all require adjustments depending on the outcomes and tenor of mediation and any work stoppages by the NTA.

We remain committed to settling a fair contract for our educators. 

Thank you,
Newton School Committee

My Approach

I have successfully negotiated 6 contracts over the past 20 years. Together with my union partners in other districts, we bargained collaboratively and shared updates to our community together. This approach sought to improve the profession and treatment of all of our unions and to build confidence in our joint work. It was our joint mission to improve the lives of children and to let everyone know that we, the schools, are a team operating cooperatively as part of a larger community ecosystem.  

Status of Current Contract

There does seem to be confusion about the current state of contracts for Newton staff given the multiple sources of messaging. I have heard concerns from families who think there is no contract and that students are missing out because of early “work to rule” actions being advertised. Please know that NPS staff are working within a contract, agreed to three years ago, that is set to expire on August 31, 2023. Everyone is doing what they need to do in adherence to their current contract.. 

For your reference “work to rule” actions do not impact daily instruction in the classroom. They do impact voluntary, compensated work that happens outside the school day or school year, including curriculum development and revisions, various types of trainings, and recertifications, to name a few. “Work to rule” may impact some of our professional learning and planning activities this summer.

Current Contract Negotiations

In the current ongoing negotiations, which I will join starting in July, there is worry that agreements are not being reached fast enough prior to the end of the current contract. The NTA and School Committee will continue to have discussions throughout the summer in an effort to reach new agreements, and a new contract, by the fall.  

As a teacher myself, I valued union advocacy and administrative understanding of the needs of union staff.  I have not forgotten those needs and the demands of the job. I do believe that the aftermath of the pandemic has made the work that much harder as we help parents and students stabilize and regain lost momentum in academic and social-emotional progress.  

Financial Compensation Details