Fig City News recently spoke with David Helfman, a Newton resident with significant experience in labor strike negotiations, advising unions on collective bargaining packages, as well as serving as a trustee on pension funds. The notes from this discussion are condensed for this article. FCN: You have a background serving on…
Posts published in “Budgets”
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…
Regarding comments by NTA President Mike Zilles about Mayor Fuller’s designation of federal pandemic funds for Newton Public Schools (NPS), I’d like to clarify the information. Mayor Fuller invested over $28 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and CARES funds, approximately 40% of the City’s total, in the…
On Tuesday, January 22, Newton Teachers Association President Mike Zilles sent Fig City News this response to the analysis that former Newton School Committee Chair Matt Hills had provided to Fig City News the previous day.
School Committee files Petition for Strike Investigation. Since the start of the new year, rumors regarding an imminent strike by Newton Public Schools (NPS) educators have gained traction, first on social media, then in the Charles River Regional Chamber of Commerce newsletter on January 12, and then over this past…
On Sunday, January 14, over forty Newton parents, teachers, and elected officials met at the Scandinavian Cultural Center for an informal discussion about school funding. Horace Mann parents Alli Franke, Dan Evans, and Matt Mazer organized the meeting just days earlier and publicized it with the assistance of the Newton…
Minnesota just chose a new state flag in an open competition. The current (and longest-tenured) version of the U.S. flag was designed by a high school student. Why does Newton need to pay consultants $25,000 to design a new seal? Lucia DolanNewton Centre
In an e-newsletter sent on Sunday December 17, Mayor Ruthanne Fuller announced that she had indicated commitment for “70% of $26 million” in property tax Overlay Surplus funds to supplement the existing Newton Public Schools (NPS) budget. Background: Since the March 2023 operating override vote was not approved and the…
After a lengthy debate, the City Council rejected Mayor Fuller’s proposal to establish an Operations Booster Stabilization Fund — a fund designed to help pay for a portion of the annual general fund appropriations for the City’s pension system. As the Mayor explained in August, the fund would hold $20,500,000…
The September 27 School Committee meeting began with several public commenters, including current students and Newton Public Schools (NPS) employees, advocating passionately for higher compensation for educators. One commenter, Jo-Louise Allen, whose LinkedIn profile states her profession as a Newton-focused special education services advocate, called for higher spending on student…