WGBH reporter Tori Bedford talks to Newton Teachers Association President Michael Zilles and School Committee Chair Ruth Goldman
“To go on strike is not a decision that any union would make lightly. It’s what you do when all else fails,” he said. “But I think there’s a lot of frustration that this just isn’t getting resolved, and people see what happened in Dedham and they say, ‘Why aren’t we doing that? Why can’t we just resolve this?'” Zilles said.
…Goldman said after 15 months of negotiations, the school department and the 2,200 union members are “nearing the end and making good progress” on contract negotiations.
“At the negotiating table, I think we’ve had points where we’ve gotten a bit stuck,” Goldman said. “But I think overall, there’s been a lot of movement and it’s been in a fairly collaborative spirit.”
It’s time to speak up and talk about how many teachers are absent every Monday after Patriots game.
It’s time to speak up and talk about how many teacher absences there are on a regular basis and classes are canceled for students.
It’s time to talk about teachers not showing up to senior night for critical discussions about how to apply to college because “it’s not part of the job description and they’re not comfortable with the contract negotiations“.
Let’s start talking about how the teachers wear protest shirts to school and pressure children to go home and push on their parents.
Right now the Teacher’s Union holds the high ground in the eyes of the public. You can see the lawn signs supporting them all over the city. A strike will erode that support substantially.
Here’s the real problem… This current crop of SC members couldn’t negotiate their way out of a paper bag, never mind actually SOLVE a long term, perpetually reoccurring labor dispute. Teacher salaries in Newton should be benchmarked against all the regional school systems, and Newton’s teachers should be compensated at the top of that pay pyramid. In exchange for the best pay, Newton should have maximum flexibility to dismiss underperforming teachers and do other things like change high school start times.
I urge every Newton citizen to write to the Mayor and the School Committee to get this solved. The teachers show up to work every day and work hard. Teachers don’t have bonuses paid out at the end of the year and teachers don’t have stock options to cash out. Teachers deserve a resolved contract.
NewtonCares, I have two children at NPS and I have been happy with 90% of the teachers I have met. There have been some not great ones, but in reality I am super happy with the teachers, the aides and they should be fairly compensated.
I am proud to have a lawn sign supporting the teachers. Senior teachers have been writing college recommendations all school year. The teachers at South show up to school to teach at 7:40 AM and on parent teacher night leave past 9 PM. That is one really long day.
I have met one teacher in my 13 years at NPS that never emailed me. She claimed she was locked out of her email. She is no longer at NPS. Every other teacher has emailed me or my students during and after school hours.
I support the public school teachers and their quest for a signed contract. Enough is enough. Get the teachers a signed contract.
Without good school teachers you don’t have good schools. And without good public schools in Newton we all lose.
I urge everyone to write to the mayor and the school committee to get this contract signed.
As a relatively recent NPS grad, I’m happy to speak up about these claims from @NewtonCares. Teacher absences were extremely low, and the idea that teachers “are absent every Monday after Patriots game[s]” is absurd at best.
What’s additionally low is NPS’ pay compared to peer districts. NPS ranks 85th in teacher pay and will begin the school year for the 2nd time in the past five years without a contract.
I’m not convinced a teacher’s strike will erode public support, especially when we look at teacher strikes nationally, and close to home, like Dedham’s.
NewtonCares, that has been the opposite of my experience with the teachers at NPS. I have found almost every teacher so far to be remarkable and most deserving of reasonable pay and a contract.
A naive/unschooled question here. We can see the “allocation” that the mayor has given the school system vs. the remainder of the town for the year out of city revenue and can make the assumption that there are similar forward-looking allocations for future years. Could it be that there is simply not enough money in future years’ allocations for the school committee and the teachers’ union to come to agreement on terms for a contract?
If this is the case, then hard choices need to be made by the mayor — take money away from non-school items (e.g., roads, public safety, community programming, etc.) to dedicate to schools OR ask now for an override to accommodate additional school spending. I’m worried there are not enough funds in the overall pot to pay for how we want to compensate our educators AND keep up with city services.
I am wondering if the school committee is backed into a corner on this — I can’t imagine *not* wanting to have salary parity between Newton’s teachers and peer communities, but the city is faced with structural financial deficits that are only starting to bloom now (and will continue to expand over the near term).
I understand that both sides negotiating aren’t able to speak directly to the status of their negotiations, but it would be helpful to stakeholders (taxpayers; those of us with kids in the school system; teachers; etc) to understand where the gaps are so that we all understand what will need to be done to bridge them.
I’ll add my voice to MMQC in saying that in my experience I have seen no evidence to support “Newton Care’s” assertion. Quite the opposite. Nothing is 100%, but that generalization above is not even close.
The other factor that should be considered is the downward enrollment trends which have been consistent for a while in the state, and have now crept into Newton. Development projects might help stabilize enrollment, but if enrollment goes down, staffing levels stay the same, and staff costs go up as a result of a more expensive contract, the end result seems obvious.
“It’s time to speak up and talk about how many teacher absences there are on a regular basis and classes are canceled for students.”
@NewtonCares I agree. It is time to speak up. I couldn’t believe my ears when my 4th grade son came home and told me of his teacher missing school BECAUSE SHE WAS SICK!
We cannot stand for this. Teachers should be coming in rain, snow, sleet or hail AND fever, cold, flu or bubonic plague!
NewtonCares,
You strike me as a zealot union buster. How did you gather your misinformation? I would presume that you believe that teachers have short days and summer off, so how dare they complain?!? You should ask an NPS teacher what their day entails. Please report your findings to the Village 14 community.
I have a daughter who is a junior and there is a teacher absentee list that is provided to all the students every single day. Simply take a look at the list. I believe teachers are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever known and I support everything they do including the highest pay possible. That said, they should not be using our children to come home and being with the parents because the teachers do not have a contract. They should not be wearing protesters to school grounds. They should not be boycotting important events for parents because it’s “not in the job description and they don’t like how the contract is going.
NewtonCares – Yes, my son checks that list every morning. And 99 times out of a 100, he is sorely disappointed. Do you have any idea how many teachers/staff there are at the high schools? I just looked at the staff list on the NNHS website, and there about 550 listed. Today there were 11 names on the absence list – about 2%, right? And 3 of those were only partial day absences. Further, not every staff member listed is a classroom teacher – it includes administration, guidance, aides, support staff, etc.
Ah, crap – I counted wrong. The faculty/staff list is 300+. So that’s like 3.5%, right? Somebody get a calculator…
NewtonCares,
Is there a long list of teachers that are absent daily? Teachers are absent for numerous reasons. There are a lot of occasions where teachers are absent that are participating in workshops, professional development, etc. Your implications are that the teachers are gaming the system. This is a sweeping generalization and a myopic way of spinning this matter. Is your daughter coming home from school proclaiming that she is being deluged with NTA propaganda? If so, please explain how this materializes.
Tricia,
You speak to a fact. NewtonCares is on a Crusade to malign NPS teachers.
@Randy That statistic is misleading. We are only down .5% or 79 students, and the number of students at both high schools has increased every year since 2012 except last year. Our class sizes are the highest anyone can remember. Our needs are growing at all levels, and many needs were barely being met before the budget squeeze the Mayor created by cutting the allocation increase and funding $1M FDK (a great idea but not at the same time as a decrease in expected and needed funding!)
Interestingly, the Mayor said this on the campaign trail: The number of students is expected to grow by 3% (320 additional students) in the next five years; as it does, students must continue receiving individualized attention.”
She said she would work with NPS “to ensure appropriate class sizes, program breadth and student support services;
Maintain favorable class sizes at the elementary, middle and high schools even while overall enrollment continues to grow…as it does, students must continue receiving individualized attention;”
“Our schools are our single most important municipal service and the City’s largest line item…., the Mayor needs to make sure there is sufficient funding for our schools.”
From http://www.RuthanneFuller.com
Yes that’s right. We all need to make sure that the Mayor keeps her promise, and the School Committee and City Councillors all work together to do their job with our bounty of tax dollars.
The school budget has increased each year at a very fast pace.
The transportation costs have escalated rapidly.
Overall, during the past 2 decades, the schools demand a greater
percentage of the city budget. In 2000 50% of the budget went
to the schools. Today that per cent age is close to 63%. These
increases are not sustainable.
Something must be done to ease these increases. Where do we
begin to slow down spending? Every corner of the school budget must be evaluated.
@Kim, I didn’t include any stats, but I’m happy to cite them from the enrollment report posted on the school website. There are two data-points that are very important. Total elementary school enrollment, and total kindergarten enrollment, as they both help determine enrollment trends and how they will impact class sizes now and in the future in all grades. In 2014 elementary school enrollment peaked at 5,833. In 2019 it’s down to 5,724. Not too much of a drop in the grand scheme, but it’s the largest drop in ~20 years after 15 years of steady growth in elementary school enrollment. If you then look at the projected elementary school enrollment, it drops quickly in the coming years by another 200+ students down to 5,583 in 2024. The last time Newton saw this was the early 1990’s which was the end of the decline that resulted in school closings. The declining projected elementary school enrollment is backed up by declining actual and projected kindergarten enrollment. Less kids coming in, more kids going out, equals declining elementary enrollment, which will lead to declining middle school and high school enrollment. The middle schools will see then end of the enrollment bubble by 2024, and the high schools by 2027, so yes there’s pressure now at those schools, but it’s just the elementary school enrollment bubble of the 2012-2017 making it’s way through MS and HS. Teachers should have a fair contract, but if it’s not financially sustainable, and enrollment continues to decline, the end result for the union may not be as desirable as they would like. All of this info is available on the school website, so feel free to dig into the numbers yourself. Don’t take my word for it. :)
Simply charge $1,000 tuition for each student going to NPS. With the extra revenue, problem solved.
Simply charge $1,000 tuition for each student attending NPS. With the additional revenue, problem solved.
Mike Striar is absolutely right. We should absolutely raise wages in exchange for flexibility in other areas, such as start times. The first thing you look for in any negotiation are issues that one side deeply values and the other side does not. I highly doubt the teachers mind starting later or making it easier to fire the few of them that are underperforming.
I would add to this list the ridiculous half day Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday policy.
For teachers to strike is a violation of law. If a teacher does strike the city should take.the position that they have resigned and if they live outside the city and their children attend our schools (FREE) the day they strike should be their childs last day of school in Newton.
Craig,
It is debatable that changing the start time will prove fruitful. A teacher from one of the local high schools mentioned they spoke to several students who shared their candid views. They stated that if the starting time changes that they will merely adjust their current schedule accordingly. For example, say that the school day starts at 8:30, students would go to bed later than they normally would under the current start time. The moral of the story is this won’t fundamentally change much for the majority of the students. It merely gives them more
“screen time.”
Randy – The schools were at capacity in 2005 when the enrollment began to climb and over the next nine years increased by over 1400 students. The statistic you quote (a projected loss of 500 students over 10 years – not necessarily an actual loss) means that the schools will remain over capacity by 900 students – still overcrowded schools. Enrollment would have to drop to a much greater degree in order for the schools return to full capacity. Have we become so used to overcrowded schools that we see that as the norm?
@Jane, How is the capacity of the school defined? Number of classrooms? Student to teacher ratio? Number of pupils per class broken down by grade? Or maybe a blend of these and other factors? If you look at the number of pupils per class, they are coming down straight across the board in K-2. There are some pocketed bubbles in 3-5 in some of the schools, but not many. In 2005 there were 1,714 school staff for 11,268 students. There are now 2,128 school staff for 12,702 students. Since 2005, we have added significant capacity in the form of school classroom additions via modular classrooms, permanent additions, and projects like Newton North, Angier, Zervas, Cabot, F.A. Day, etc. I agree that there are many schools where they were not designed to support the capacity they are at, or project to be at. But, the limiting factor there seems to be the buildings themselves, and not the staffing levels.
The question posed related to a perceived decrease in enrollment and that a loss of students would result in a loss of staff. That’s not necessarily the case. NPS has numerous programs that require staff and space regardless of a minor decrease in enrollment because the system is committed to a full inclusion model.
Therefore, capacity would be defined as sufficient space for all programs to function well. As an example, the state has determined adequate classroom space as 900 sf for an elementary classroom. In addition, adequate space is required for multiple schoolwide programs – Literacy program, ELL, resource rooms, space for a social worker and for a psychologist to test students, library/media, technology labs, conference rooms, breakout space to work with students in small groups (differentiated instruction), safe space, teacher work space, music rooms appropriately placed, art room, room for the inclusion facilitator, space for the math coach.
Modulars address the classroom space, but don’t accommodate these other essential needs necessary for a 21st century school facility. In addition, they don’t add to common spaces such as the cafeteria, bathrooms, or the playground. Crowded hallways and cafeterias can take an emotional toll on young children.
Capacity is viewed very differently in 2019 than in our era. If we are truly committed to a fully inclusive program in all schools, space and staff for programs other than regular classrooms must be included in the mix.
The new schools address these multiple needs. Four schools, 19 to go.
I agree that the school buildings all need to be addressed, but my point was that between 2005 and 2019 school enrollment went up 12%, while staff levels went up 24%. If enrollment is going down, staff levels stay the same or increase, and staff costs go up, it seems that the final result would have to be a reduction in staff. I’m sure the details are important, but the numbers don’t lie. All that said, maybe the union is perfectly ok with a smaller workforce which is compensated at a higher level. Maybe the staff reductions occur through attrition. I’m not judging either way. I’m just looking at this from a business/management/numbers perspective.
Randy-Programs were added between those dates that added staff. If you’re talking about cutting programs or eliminating the full inclusion model, that’s a different discussion. Enrollment isn’t the only driver of staffing increases.