Schools
Sudbury Public Schools Committee Signs Off On Teacher Contract
School Committee members unanimously accept the previously-negotiated contract that spells out pay and benefits for teachers for the next three years
The Sudbury Public Schools Committee accepted a previously negotiated teacher contract that will cover the next three years at its Tuesday night meeting at the Sudbury Senior Center. The contract grants Sudbury's teachers raises of 3 percent in 2013, 2.5 percent in 2014 and 2 percent in 2015.
The public forum section of the meeting featured some commentary from veteran teacher Mary Hawes Mahoney about the contract.
"People are voting with their feet on this contract," said Mahoney, mentioning 23 teachers who recently left Curtis Middle School for districts she said offer more in salary and charge less for health insurance. "It's getting harder and harder for Sudbury to keep the best people. I think if we want to keep the best people, we have to offer them at least something. People say to themselves, 'Why don't I just go to Weston and earn $12K more per year?'"
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"I feel good about where we are now," said Committee Chair Richard Robison during a brief discussion about the teacher contract. The Committee voted to accept the contract, which had already been agreed to by all parties, on a unanimous vote with little discussion.
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Robison noted that all open teaching positions have been filled, with the exception of one position that came open just last week. Robison said it is his understanding that the attrition rate at Curtis falls within a normal range, as teachers reach retirement age, accept administration positions or decide not to return from leave.
Superintendent Anne Wilson used her portion of the meeting to recognize the teachers and administrators who participated in Open Houses at the start of the school year.
"It looks like school has been open for months," Wilson said. "In all schools, there's student work on display already. I am overwhelmed with pride and joy."
"I'm just glad that this isn't Chicago," Robison joked about the Chicago teachers' strike, which idled more than 350,000 public school students in the nation's third-largest school district for more than a week during a tense disupte about teacher pay and benefits.
