School Committee Chairman Responds to Teachers Union 'Working to the Contact'

Negotiations for a teachers contract restarted this spring after the . 

The first proposal received the teachers approval, but the School Committee voted it down, citing a difficult budget and the desire to retain as many teachers as possible.

Last week, the teachers union sent a letter to the Watertown Tab saying its members would only be at schools during "the contractually obligatedS times.” According to the Tab, that would mean teachers would not come in early and will not maintain teacher websites. I the contract is not settled by the start of the school year in September, the union promises teachers will not participate in School Site Council meetings, chaperoning, after school clubs, classroom newsletters and tutoring.

Those are activities teachers participate in voluntarily, and are not required to do so under their contract, according to the letter.

Tuesday, May 24, School Committee Chairman Tony Paolillo sent out the following letter in response to the Watertown Educators Association's announcement:

To Teachers, Administrators and Staff of the Watertown School District:

I am writing this letter on behalf of the School Committee, in response to the most recent statements made by the Watertown Educators Association (WEA), and in light of the planned job action that the Association has threatened to undertake. We know our teachers will continue to work and perform their duties to the best of their abilities and at the highest levels of professionalism. We as a School Committee are saddened by the job action proposal from the WEA leadership as we continue to work toward an Agreement. Any of these proposed actions will have a deleterious effect on the education of our students in the Town of Watertown.

The following is a list of points we feel will help clarify the School Committee's position on a number of issues raised by the Association.

• The School Committee does not want to fund pay raises through teacher and staff layoffs. Teachers are our most important resource and we do not want to lose any of you.
• We want to maintain class size ratios as low as possible within financial constraints. We recognize that class size is very important to the quality of education delivered to our students.
• The School Committee's latest proposal during negotiations ultimately provides a pay raise to all teachers. In the current school year, just over half of all teachers are receiving pay increases through steps, typically at 5 percent, or longevity.  In 2011-12, again, over half of all teachers will receive step or longevity increases. In 2012-13, we propose that teachers on steps receive a 4 percent increase, and that those not on steps receive a 2.5 percent pay raise. All teachers will continue to receive contracted salary increases for longevity and for personal educational attainment.
• We also propose that the School Committee and the Association sit down together over the next 15 months to discuss new and improved ways to compensate teachers.
• Together, we must provide the best education possible to our students, despite the limitations on resources due to today's financial crisis.  However, we cannot do this if salaries increase at a rate greater than our revenues grow, which is typically just over 3 percent. When salaries increase faster than revenues, other services, staff, and materials must be cutback.
• The School Committee's proposal is consistent with, and in some cases better than, what neighboring towns and comparable towns are doing to address their significant fiscal issues. Framingham, Bedford, and Weymouth, to name a few, have signed contracts that freeze all steps and provide no cost of living increase, in order to save jobs.
• The WEA leadership has indicated that teachers are leaving Watertown for better paying jobs. Our study shows that only 7 of the 78 teachers that have left the district over the last 3 years went to another nearby district. We have no way of knowing if their departures were for better pay. We do know that out of the 78 that left, 45 left because of retirement or maternity leave.

We are stating these facts with the hope of clarifying the School Committee positions on these matters. We hope to resolve this contract impasse, and we will continue to meet with the WEA's negotiating team. To resolve this issue, the WEA leadership needs to understand the difficult financial times we are facing as a Town, and as a State and a Nation. Watertown is not an island immune from the national economy.

The School Committee respects all of our teachers and staff, and we understand that they are our most important resource in educating the students of the Watertown Public Schools. The Committee is open to discussing any of the above issues and concerns at any time.

Thank You,
Tony Paolillo
Chairman, Watertown School Committee