Council committee hears city funding request to cover Boston Teachers Union contract increases

The Boston City Council Committee on Ways and Means on May 7 received requests to move money in the city budget to cover pay raises and new staffing requirements in a collective bargaining agreement with the Boston Teachers Union.

The committee was presented two related orders: a request to reduce the FY25 appropriation for the reserve for collective bargaining by $33,262,466 and a supplemental appropriation to Boston Public Schools of $33,262,460. The administration said those amounts reflect FY25 and FY26 cost items arising from the contract, whose term is Sept. 1, 2024, through Aug. 30, 2027.

Why it matters: Councilors and union leaders said the agreement front-loads pay increases for lower‑paid employees and adds commitments tied to the city’s inclusion work for students with disabilities, and that funding will be needed now to cover retroactive and near‑term costs.

Lou Mandarini, testifying for the administration, described two central aims of the agreement: expanding supports so students with disabilities can access services in more schools and lifting pay for the city’s lowest paid school‑system workers. "The ability to retain, and recruit paraprofessionals and have them have a salary that lets them support themselves and their families and live in the city is a key prerogative for us," Mandarini said.

Major provisions explained at the hearing include general wage increases of 2.5% in year 1 and 2% in years 2 and 3 (the administration described those as applying in September 2024, 2025 and 2026), and targeted increases for paraprofessionals, Applied Behavior Analysis specialists and family liaisons. The administration said paraprofessionals will receive a roughly $5.50 an hour increase (primarily in year 1, split over the contract) and that the minimum para salary will move to $40,000. Because some increases were front‑loaded, staff said affected workers will see retroactive pay for the current year.

The administration estimated the FY26 budget impact of the contract at about $55.9 million; officials said roughly $22.5 million of that reflects FY25 increases that carry into FY26. To support implementation in the near term, the administration said it will hire 18 additional staff next year to provide regional and school supports while full implementation ramps up.

Boston Teachers Union President Eric Berg, who testified in support of the agreement, said the contract "will stabilize staffing in our schools, and we believe it will reduce vacancies." Berg told the committee the union was "very proud of the agreement" and urged councilors to fund it at the full council vote later in the day.

On inclusion and staffing, administration witnesses described two main approaches adopted in the contract: (1) building grade‑level thresholds that trigger additional staffing when a grade level meets a defined level of need, and (2) creating a new, higher‑paid specialized paraprofessional position with additional training to support students with disabilities in general education settings. "There are sort of two main ways we did that," an administration official said, adding the contract also provides rules of the road so local educators can organize services on the ground.

Councilors asked about implementation details and costs. A school department representative said schools typically can project class and course enrollment and that the administration will review implementation year by year, reporting back to the council in the fall and during the next school year. On athletics, the administration said a statewide and national review of coaching compensation is underway and that results should be available before the end of the school year.

Councilors also raised related concerns during the hearing: Councilor Murphy asked the administration to prioritize repairs or a replacement gymnasium at the Josiah Quincy School to ensure students with disabilities have equal access to physical education; Councilor Heather Flore flagged a pay disparity between Boston Public Health Commission nurses who work in BPS schools and school nurses covered by the BTU and asked the administration to seek parity. The administration said it is working on the separate public health nurses contract and considers the issue active.

Retiree benefits: multiple speakers clarified that the contract’s wage and benefit changes apply to active employees and that the contract does not directly change retirement benefit formulas. An administration official noted the city’s retirement system and COLA rules are regulated by the state agency PERAC and are addressed outside the collective bargaining agreement.

No final funding vote was taken at the committee hearing. Committee members expressed broad support for approving the contract; several said they intended to vote for funding at the full City Council meeting later the same day. The hearing record shows the council will consider the appropriation orders (Docket Nos. 0940 and 0941) at the full council meeting where any formal vote will occur.

The committee was told the administration will provide further implementation updates and cost information as the district begins to implement new staffing rules and hires the additional regional staff agreed to in the contract.