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BPS administrators ask council to approve contract funding; councilors press for budget detail
Summary
Councilors heard BPS and BASIS leaders describe a ratified agreement that adds annual raises, a new salary step and expanded parental leave; budget staff said the FY‑26 transfers come from the city's central collective‑bargaining reserve and agreed to supply more granular budget schedules. BASIS urged prompt appropriation to deliver retroactive pay.
The Boston City Council Committee of the Whole reviewed a collective bargaining agreement for the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors (BASIS/BASAS) during the Feb. 4, 2026 hearing and was asked to approve a supplemental appropriation moving funds from the city’s central collective‑bargaining reserve into Boston Public Schools’ accounts.
Jeremiah Hasson, representing BPS labor relations, summarized the agreement: roughly 2% annual wage increases, an additional salary step that extends the grid to step 9, and expanded paid parental leave (up to 18 weeks, with options to supplement pay using accrued leave to reach full compensation). Hasson said the unit covers assistant principals, special‑education directors, program directors and other supervisors and estimated current membership at approximately 150 (transcript also uses higher membership figures by another speaker). Diane Hauser, president of BASIS, asked the council to authorize the appropriation now, noting her members have been working without a finalized contract for more than a year and need retroactive pay. “Please authorize these funds so we can receive our scheduled pay increases and work with the school department on the retroactive pay as well,” Hauser told the committee.
Councilors pressed administration and BPS for fiscal context. They asked whether stipend programs (after‑school coaching and activities) or positions could be cut to cover district shortfalls; BPS officials said stipend reviews aim to minimize impacts on direct student services and that programmatic budget details and any position changes will be presented at the upcoming school committee budget hearing. Budget staff said the transaction for these CBAs moves money from a centrally budgeted collective‑bargaining reserve (the administration cited a central FY‑26 reserve budget of roughly $102 million) into departmental appropriations and that the requested transfers for the BPS dockets total roughly $1.3 million for FY‑26 based on the materials read into the record.
BASIS negotiators also described non‑financial changes intended to support administrators: automated career‑award processing at established service milestones (7, 14, 19, 29 and 34 years), a new personal day, and contract language to require planning of professional development so administrators receive targeted training (for example, on inclusive‑education transitions).
Councilors asked for follow‑up materials — including a per‑year cost schedule, clarifications about parental‑leave tiers and a staffing‑impact analysis — before the full‑council vote the committee plans to schedule on Wednesday. No formal committee vote was taken at the hearing.
What happens next: administration and BPS will supply requested budget breakdowns and clarifications; the committee intends to bring the appropriation(s) to the full council for a vote.
