Union presents municipal finance figures and urges School Committee to make initial wage offer

At the bargaining table the North Andover Teachers Association presented a municipal finance overview and explicitly urged the School Committee to make a serious initial wage offer rather than wait for the union to lead with a high opening demand.

The union presenter outlined data including per-pupil spending (cited at about $19,300 for North Andover), recent Chapter 70 increases (a rise from roughly $9 million to over $13 million in recent years), and local fiscal capacity indicators it described as an average annual surplus of about $4.5 million and recent excess levy capacity of roughly $5.5 million. Using those figures the union said the town has revenue options to consider when responding to wage proposals.

The union framed this as a practical strategy: asking the committee to offer a realistic starting wage number reduces the months of "pretend" back-and-forth and can hasten bargaining toward a timely settlement, the presenter said. The union acknowledged it would continue to reserve final wage proposals but requested an initial committee offer as a basis for serious counteroffers.

What officials said: Committee and district representatives thanked the union for the information and said they would review the materials and prepare a finance presentation from the district’s perspective at the next session. No wage offer was made during this meeting.

Why it matters: Wages are the central outstanding issue the union identified; the district’s fiscal outlook and the interplay of state aid (Chapter 70), local levy capacity and reserves will determine what the school committee considers affordable.