On the morning of January 28, the School Committee and Mayor Ruthanne Fuller each published detailed Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents responding to questions about the Teachers Strike and City finances.
NPS and SC Frequently Asked Questions, issued by the School Committee, addresses 21 questions in a Google Doc that could be updated.
Frequently Asked Questions on City of Newton Finances and Newton Public Schools Budget (as of January 25, 2024), issued by the Mayor’s Office, responds to 15 questions in a PDF document.
UPDATE: At 12:45PM, Superintendent Anna Nolin’s message was emailed to the Newton Public Schools community.
UPDATE: At 1:30PM, the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) issued a statement saying:
As of 1:00pm today, Sunday January 28, the NTA negotiations team has presented the School Committee with a new, comprehensive, compromise package that would settle this deal today. It holds fast to our commitment to address urgent student needs and educator working conditions, while presenting numerous compromises across our proposals to address the financial concerns of the School Committee. The School Committee needs to sign this MOA TODAY BY 3:30PM so we can have our kids back in school tomorrow morning.
When asked about how this new NTA proposal would address financial concerns of the School Committee, an NTA spokesperson told Fig City News that the proposal calls for several changes — Unit C working hours, caps on class sizes, and number of additional full-time regular education social workers — to be phased-in over the years of the proposed contract.