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Date: 11/1/2022
SOUTH HADLEY – Rain did not stop educators and the public from gathering streetside in front of South Hadley High School on Oct. 24 to rally and call on the district to resolve differences on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
This is the second consecutive year that South Hadley educators are working under the terms of an expired CBA. The South Hadley Education Association (SHEA) welcomed the community to join them in their rally to draw attention to the needs of students in the public schools.
“Educators in South Hadley Public Schools are concerned about staff shortages and the district’s inability to fill jobs because of low pay. Both classroom teachers and paraeducators are among the lowest paid in the region,” SHEA said in a statement. “Consequently, class sizes and caseloads grow, and students receive less individualized attention and support. Our community deserves properly funded and staffed public schools, and the School Committee needs a greater sense of urgency in addressing the issues facing students and educators.”
Chants of, “What do we want? New contracts. When do we want them? Last year,” came from the crowd of close to 50 educators and residents as they stood roadside raising awareness for the ongoing dispute. Many passing cars honked in support of the rally.
The School Committee took a portion of their Oct. 6 meeting to provide an update on the ongoing contract negotiations, and heard from many educators and residents during public comment about supporting teachers in South Hadley schools. Many of the comments from educators were echoed in discussions at the rally.
School Committee member Eric Friesner read a statement on behalf of the committee during the meeting and provided an update on where negotiations stood, but added nothing further as he said the district prefers not to comment publicly on the process.
The statement read by Friesner was said to be shared for public interest on the negotiations and the latest offer to the union. Friesner added he hoped the update would provide additional context with the goal of helping the community better understand the ongoing matter.
According to Friesner, when the district opted to seek state mediation in June for Unit A bargaining members – which is made up of teachers – management had offered 14 days in August for this to happen. They added that union negotiators were able to attend any of those were dates
SHEA President Amy Foley spoke on behalf of the union before Friesner’s comments and said it was a unilateral decision by management to seek mediation and that the state mediator does not come and sit with parties in person but instead connects with them remotely. She added this was an approach at odds with how meditation traditionally functions.
Friesner gave an update on negotiations saying management is now offering first-year paraeducators, with a high school diploma, a $15.44 per hour starting salary, retroactive to July 1, 2021. The current rate in the contract has since expired and was set at $12.17 per hour, an amount that was unanimously called unacceptable by the School Committee.
The district has since added to their offer for teachers with a three-year contract with 2 percent increases and a 2.5 percent increase in the third year. SHEA countered with a four-year contract with yearly increases of 2 percent, 3 percent, and 5 percent in the final two years. They also added another 2 percent increase in their counter for those in the top pay step of the district.
“Approximately 50 percent of our Unit A members are on the top step of the salary scale,” Friesner said. “For each percent increase Unit A members receive, the cost to the district is about $160,000. We’ve at all times been prepared and willing to negotiate and have consistently made sincere efforts to work with SHEA to resolve differences during this process.”
Acting Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Business Operations Jennifer Voyik added the district has been gathering information from other districts to compare rates across Hampshire and Hampden counties.
School Committee Chair Allison Schlachter responded to some of the concerns expressed from public comment during the meeting and said the committee empathizes with the anger expressed and they fully support and will continue to support the district’s teachers.
“I know there’s a lot of anger towards the School Committee right now and I think it’s not necessarily personal, but that it’s about feeling valued. People really want to feel valued, and they want to feel heard,” said Schlachter. “I hope those of you who know us as individuals know we are a School Committee that ran first and foremost for students and kids and for the future of this town.”