Springfield educators press school committee to restore 15 sick days, push paid family leave as talks continue

Three Springfield public school teachers used the committee's public-speak-out to press the district to restore 15 sick days and adopt paid family and medical leave, describing medical crises that left them without pay.

Christine Jasiewicz, a special-education teacher at Sumner Avenue, told the committee she delivered her daughter by emergency C-section in December 2019 and spent months without pay while her newborn stayed 79 days in a neonatal intensive-care unit. "No one should ever have to choose between their family and their paycheck," Jasiewicz said.

Rhonda Hall Reynolds, a 20-year veteran and special-education teacher at Elias Brookings Elementary School, described caring for a husband who survived a cardiac arrest and then dialysis, saying she exhausted sick leave and the district had informed her that Springfield had opted out of paid family medical leave. "If we had paid family medical leave, I would have been able to spend more time with him," Reynolds said.

Shani Coutu, a multilingual-language learner teacher at Benjamin Swan School, said a cancer diagnosis and months of surgery and treatment exhausted her accrued sick time; she said losing pay while recovering has been "financially devastating." Coutu told the committee that reinstating 15 sick days would have prevented about 60 days of lost pay over her career.

The public comments came on the same night the committee received an update from the district negotiating team about ongoing contract talks with the Springfield Educators Association (Unit A). Chief Patrick Roche, Chief Jose Escribano and Principal Terry Poe, who sit on the district bargaining team, told the committee they are still at the table and that much of the work to date has focused on language rather than final financial offers.

Roche said the district has identified large-cost items on the union's side and has tried to narrow language items before entering full financial proposals. He noted that prior proposals that would have required district-funded air conditioning were taken off the table after the district presented a plan, reducing projected costs. "There's still $72,000,000 out there and so we have a long way to go," Roche said, adding that the figure would amount to about a 45% increase over current teacher salaries.

Negotiators said they have not yet received a financial counter to the district's October 2 initial offer and that paid family and medical leave remains an item that will be discussed when the parties move into monetary proposals.

What the committee does next: committee members asked for clarity on who sits at the bargaining table and whether a school committee member should be part of the negotiating team. Attorney Keith Kiefer told members that including a committee designee on the negotiating team is a local practice that some districts use but not a legal requirement.

Why it matters: committee members and teachers framed the issue as both a human and budgetary concern—teachers described life-or-death family care and continuing medical bills, while the district said substantial new recurring costs would need funding sources. The committee did not take a vote on benefits or sick leave at the meeting; negotiators said talks will continue.

Ending: The committee heard the personal stories and the bargaining update on the same night; negotiators pledged to continue discussions and to bring financial proposals when parties are ready. The district said it will continue subcommittee work and keep the committee informed.