By Jack Schwed
The Wayland Educators Association and the town’s School Committee are in ongoing negotiations to update the contracts of teaching staff in the Wayland Public Schools district, a routine process that occurs every three years.
As WEA continues to push for a “fair settlement,” district officials say the town’s tight budget is making it difficult to find middle ground between supporting its students, teachers and administrators while remaining fiscally responsible with the community’s funds.
Charlene Bishop, high school math teacher and negotiations chair for WEA, said the union ideally aims to reach an agreement before teachers’ contracts expire at the end of June.
So far, a tentative agreement has been reached for Unit B, a group of paraprofessionals including teaching assistants and secretaries, which recently merged with the teachers in Unit A to form the WEA, she said.
In a letter addressed to Wayland families, WEA wrote that Unit A seeks a settlement that aligns with today’s “economic realities” and positions the district to have competitive pay and benefits relative to neighboring districts.
The next scheduled bargaining session took place on May 26, the letter states.
Erin Gibbons, chair of Wayland’s School Committee, said it has been difficult negotiating with Unit A because a large percentage of teachers are at the high end of their salary scales, so they no longer receive step increases each year.
This means these teachers only get compensation based on the Cost of Living Adjustment, an increase in wages or benefits designed to counteract the effects of inflation, she said.
However, due to the town’s current budget constraints, the committee does not have a “large pool of money” to raise the COLA substantially, Gibbons said.
“It’s been a really difficult position for the committee,” she said. “We’re trying to do our best to balance that with the concerns that our teachers have raised … and then also the best interest of the district and the students.”
Town Manager Michael McCall said the town’s current financial pressures derive mainly from stagnant state aid and rising health insurance, and retirement costs. The town is working to mitigate this by implementing a hiring freeze, closing vacant positions and ensuring the budget has a “modest” tax increase, he said.
At the Annual Town Meeting on May 5, voters approved a $112 million budget, up approximately $5 million from last fiscal year’s budget.
McCall said the town is likely headed toward a Proposition 2½ override, which would enable the community to raise funds by putting forth a vote to increase the limit on tax levies. Otherwise, the town would have to make “significant cuts” to services and staffing, he said.
Wayland has not passed an operating budget override since 2006, when $2.1 million was raised to prevent staff reductions and program eliminations, following a $2.3 million override the year prior.
“We need an override to continue to provide the level of service that we’re providing to our students,” Gibbons said.
WPS Superintendent David Fleishman said, despite the current challenges facing the negotiations, he hopes to settle a contract that puts forth competitive salaries for the district and ensures working conditions are such that teachers can “do their best work” with students.
“It’s always harder to have negotiations when fiscal times are tighter, which they are now,” he said. “But we’re hopeful that we can resolve a contract that works for both sides.”
Fleishman said there are other areas within the district being impacted by the town’s financial strains, such as budget increases in health insurance and out-of-district tuition. The district’s maintenance budget has also been under pressure because some of the buildings are older and in disrepair, he said.
Although the district and town will face “pressure points” going forward, Fleishman said he tries to remain optimistic.
“People in Wayland understand the importance of education,” he said. “That’s why a lot of people move here, and so the schools are generally well supported, and I think we all want that to continue.”
Throughout the month, Bishop said, WEA members have taken action through a “May Matters Campaign” to inform the community about the union’s contract negotiations.
For instance, members limited work-related communications to contractual school hours, adhered strictly to the current contract’s given hours and responsibilities on certain days and paused engagement in voluntary, uncompensated activities, according to WEA’s letter to Wayland families.
Still, the most important reason for the negotiations is to keep up to speed with students’ evolving needs, Bishop said.
“You don’t want it to be a stalemate because the needs of our kids keep changing,” Bishop said. “It’s definitely good to revisit what needs to be updated.”
