District, teachers’ negotiators reach tentative memorandum of understanding; union ratification next

The Westwood Regional Board of Education reported that district negotiators and the teachers association have reached a tentative memorandum of understanding. The agreement was signed and will be sent to the teachers association (WEA) membership for ratification, the board reported.

The negotiations update was read to the board as part of the negotiations committee report. According to the report read by Miss Milton on behalf of Miss Martin, the memorandum of understanding reflects negotiated changes and now requires a vote by the union membership before any new terms take effect.

Why it matters: Tentative agreements set the framework for teacher compensation and working conditions; union ratification is the next required step before implementation. The board indicated the agreement was a negotiated, tentative settlement and did not provide detailed fiscal terms during the public meeting.

What the board said "The agreement now moves to the WEA membership for ratification," the report said. The board did not record specific contract dollar figures or the timetable for implementation during the meeting; it recorded the negotiations report for the official minutes.

Next steps The memorandum of understanding will be presented to WEA members for ratification; the negotiations team is expected to report the result back to the board after the membership vote. The board did not set a public date for ratification in the meeting transcript.

No public comment addressed the tentative agreement during the meeting's public forum.