After the Newton School Committee and Newton Teachers Association (NTA) negotiating teams met for nine hours on January 20, each issued a statement. The next negotiation session is scheduled for Sunday, January 21, 10AM-7PM.
School Committee Statement
The Newton School Committee’s statement provided charts comparing the NPS proposals with peer districts specified by the NTA, along with these points about the day’s negotiation session:
- Both parties expressed their urgency to return students to schools on Monday
- Both parties shared perspectives for their respective positions
- NPS shared restructured proposals on (i) parental leave, (ii) benefits, (ii) time on learning, and (iv) children of non-resident NTA members attending NPS
- We will be meeting all day tomorrow, Sunday, January 21, 2024.
UPDATE: Just before noon on Sunday, January 21, the School Committee issued a second statement. With updated charts comparing the most recent NPS proposal with peer districts, the statement said, in part:
- “The decision to close schools tomorrow is solely in the hands of the NTA. The Superior Court has ordered the union to disavow the strike by 3:00 PM today.”
- “[If] a mutually satisfactory agreement cannot be reached today, we will propose [that the negotiations] continue … tomorrow while students and all other staff return to school. …We will provide appropriate substitute coverage for [the NTA} core negotiating team as needed.”
Newton Teachers Association Statement
In a press conference after the session, Newton South HS teacher and NTA negotiations committee member Ryan Normandin read a statement and NTA president Mike Zilles answered questions. In his statement, Normandin said:
- “We were scheduled for nine hours of bargaining today… After handing proposals to the School Committee, …we spent four of those nine hours waiting for them to respond. …They took four hours to make the kind of responses that would have been appropriate in October of 2022.”
- “…Given the School Committee’s slow pace and lack of urgency, we do not expect there will be an agreement by Monday.”
- “…We call on the School Committee, after 16 months of stalling, to defy Mayor Fuller, stand with us, and settle a fair contract that will breathe life into the system that the Mayor has tried so hard to dismantle.”
In answering questions, Zilles said:
- “[The strike] is illegal. We are going against state law. We are standing up for our students. We are engaging in civil disobedience. …We are going to defy [the judge’s order to return to work by Monday morning].”
- “We made progress [today], but it was far too slow. …We reached a couple of very commonsensical agreements we should have reached a long time ago. …We’re sitting at the table with them – that’s progress. We haven’t sat at the table with them since July.”
- “[On Monday] We’ll be entering into the second day that we’re out of the schools, if we’re out here again tomorrow telling you that we don’t have an agreement.”
Ed. Note: Jack Prior contributed reporting for this article. We revised this article on January 21 to include a second statement by the School Committee.
