SOUTH HADLEY — With a tentative contract agreement between the school district and the union unit for paraprofessional and education therapy assistants in place, School Committee members want to get the deal signed before the holidays.
“It’s so exciting this is finally happening. I’m just so eager. The paras have earned this money already. This is money we owe to them,” School Committee Chairwoman Allison Schlachter said at last Thursday’s School Committee meeting. “We have been so clear from the very beginning that this has been a priority and I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but I want them to have this.”
Meanwhile, tension over contract talks between administration and School Committee members and the South Hadley Education Association — the union of teachers, paraeducators and other staffers — remains high, prompting the committee to review the district policy for mutual respect and civility at its meeting last week.
Although Interim Superintendent Mark McLaughlin did not have any suggested changes to the policy, he felt the committee should review it annually and stress the importance of maintaining decorum.
McLaughlin explained that he has made it clear that as an administrative team, the central office will not engage in disrespectful conversation with anyone — no student, staff, or visitor.
“There has been and continues to be examples of some pretty poor behavior exhibited across the board. I don’t mean to suggest that it’s the majority of staff or parents … but I think it’s fair to say that maybe more recently, some have lost sight of what it means to operate respectfully,” McLaughlin said. “It has to be acknowledged that when a disagreement becomes abusive, name-calling and bullying, it’s not tolerated. I say this because I’ve had a few folks call me and say that they haven’t been pleased when a teacher has said it’s time to end a conversation. I’ve told people they’re public servants, but they’re not in the business of being abused.”
Contract negotiations between the school district and the union began last fall. The two groups moved into state mediation in June. UPDATE CONTRACT FOR TEACHERS HERE
Union members began “working to rule” last month after negotiations for a new contract reached an impasse. As such, union members work no more than their contracted hours. Rather than waiting more than a month between mediation sessions, union members asked to meet with the district outside of mediation the week before Thanksgiving, according to Amy Foley, the union’s president.
“After looking at the two offers, we realized the numbers were closer than we thought,” Foley said in an interview with the Gazette. “We came to a fair settlement for everyone.”
In a few short hours, the two parties struck a tentative contract agreement for education therapeutic assistants and paraprofessionals.
That agreement, which has not been ratified, includes a four-year contract with a retroactive 2% raise for the current year and a new pay scale for paras that starts at $15.44 per hour and tops off at $21 per hour for those with a bachelor’s degree, according to Eric Friesner, vice chairperson of the School Committee. The hourly salary for education therapy assistants is proposed to start at $22.98 per hour.
The following school year, the salary will increase by 2% and the bottom step will be removed and a new top step will be added, he said.
Foley said in a recent interview she’s hoping this recent momentum will continue with negotiations for the rest of the union. Members of the group held a rally for support last weekend at Village Commons.
While this part of the negotiations are moving along, tension over contract talks remains high. Schlachter said the rhetoric from the union has become very aggressive. She said that she and fellow member Kyle Belanger had received text messages that were allegedly from a senior union member that they felt were “bullying” and “harassing.” Schlachter also said that union members have consistently belittled committee members on Facebook and Twitter.
In a statement to the Gazette, Foley said that the union’s focus “has been and always will be on the students and families in South Hadley as we try to setttle a fair contract for our educators. We have made every effort to do this in a way that is respectful of the stakeholders and informative to the community.”
McLaughlin said that if a teacher or staff member feels that they are being addressed improperly, the mutual respect and civility policy supports stopping the conversation.
Within the past week, he said a representative of the union had spoken “very disrespectfully” to him.
“I have thick skin, but it was inappropriate and it should not be tolerated,” said McLaughlin. “And there have been folks who have said that it would not be tolerated, well, I’m still waiting for an apology.”
He noted that it is important for students to see adults can work through difficulties respectfully and be positive role models. McLaughlin said that he was not promoting a freeze of free speech or free thought, but to be mindful of the impact their speech can have.
“The goal here, and I want to stress, … we talk about what our rights are, but with rights come responsibilities. It shouldn’t be unlimited. It’s not just students. It can be teachers. Visitors. The goal here is to carve out a space of respect in the school setting,” he said. “We do have some control in the environment that we create to foster learning and to foster respect for others’ viewpoints. At the heart of it, that’s what education is. We don’t just support one point of view and give equal time to it.”
During the School Committee meeting last week, Schlachter inquired with members of the district’s negotiating team to get a better sense of what made this particular negotiating session more productive.
“What was the magic? What happened that day that allowed us to move forward?” she said.
Friesner said that the two parties met much like they did in the springtime without a mediator.
McLaughlin said he didn’t think they were really treading over new ground as there haven’t been any substantive changes.
“There’s very little difference between the contract upon which we have the tentative agreement and what the School Committee’s offer was in June,” he said.
Jennifer Voyik, who is the acting assistant superintendent for finance and business operations, said she thought having smaller groups on both sides aided in the discussion process.
“I think the smaller groups allowed us to hear each other more,” said Voyik. “We were step by step with each piece and scale. That’s what was maybe missing when we lost touch in June. It seemed more like we were working together versus working against each other.”
Moving forward, Voyik said that if the union approves the terms of the agreement and the School Committee approves it at a meeting, her office can get the calculations done to provide retroactive pay to the paraeducators and education therapy assistants potentially for the Dec. 22 payroll.
Schlachter said she was more than happy to schedule a special committee meeting when the time comes.
“I know we’re not done yet, but I have full faith and confidence that we can keep that going,” she said.
Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.
