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Everett School Committee ratifies teacher and paraprofessional agreements after collaborative negotiations
Summary
The committee approved memoranda of agreement with the Everett Teachers Association covering Unit A (teachers) and Unit D (paraprofessionals). The contracts include multi-year raises, paid professional-development time, paid parental leave and a boost to paraprofessional starting pay.
The Everett School Committee on Dec. 2 approved memoranda of agreement with the Everett Teachers Association for Unit A (teachers) and Unit D (paraprofessionals), concluding collaborative bargaining that district leaders said avoided a work stoppage.
"We came to the table to negotiate and we were met with a group of professional and caring school committee members and administrators who also came prepared to work together," Kimberly Auger, president of the Everett Teachers Association, told the committee during public comment, praising the process.
Superintendent said the district has settled four contracts to date and described several key contract elements: a revised teacher salary schedule tied to 120 days to advance on the schedule, paid time for professional-development committee work, paid parental leave that mirrors city provisions, and base salary increases for paraprofessionals. "The base wage would go from $22,000 to $32,000 in year 1," the superintendent said when summarizing Unit D changes.
Members also highlighted raises for teachers of 5% in the first year followed by 3% in years two and three as part of the packaged language discussed during the meeting. The superintendent said the agreements include operational changes such as restructuring parent-teacher conferencing and creation of a working group to review lunch coverage so teachers have more predictable break time.
Miss Hurley moved to approve the memorandum of agreement between Everett Public Schools and Everett Teachers Association Unit A; the motion was seconded and passed by roll call. She later moved to approve the memorandum of agreement with Unit D; that motion was also seconded and approved.
The committee voted in favor of both agreements by roll call. Following the votes, board members and the superintendent thanked negotiators and ETA leadership for what several described as a respectful process.
Next steps: the MOAs will be finalized in the district’s records and implemented according to the timelines in the agreements; the committee noted they will continue to convene the stated working groups and follow implementation details through staff reports to the committee.
