SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Education Association and Springfield Public Schools are currently in the midst of negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.
During a public speak out session on Nov. 21, representatives from the Springfield Education Association presented proposals to the School Committee that they believe will help improve student learning and teaching working conditions.
According to Heather Wernimont, an educator in Springfield Public Schools for eight years, SEA Unit A members have worked over 70 days without a contract, as of press time.
During that period of time, representatives from the SEA circulated a petition that urges the School Committee and its bargaining representatives to work with the SEA on creating a “fair and equitable” contract.
At the time of the Nov. 21 School Committee meeting, around 2,000 SEA members had signed the petition.
“We, the members of the Springfield Education Association, petition the Springfield School Committee and its bargaining representatives to engage in meaningful and productive negotiations with our union to reach a fair and equitable contract,” said Heather Wernimont, an educator in Springfield Public Schools for the past eight years.
According to Wernimont, the Springfield Public Schools’ bargaining team was not responsive to SEA’s proposals until September. Since then, Wernimont said that their proposals have been rejected, but “fruitful negotiations” have recently taken place between the two sides, so there is hope “that that will continue.”
The proposals
Two representatives from the SEA presented initial proposals to the School Committee on Nov. 21 that spelled out what the union is looking for.
Allie Ryan, a seven-year teacher in Springfield schools, said that the union is seeking racial equity for students and teachers through “ongoing funding, collaborative development and an implementation of an equity plan,” along with updates to an expansion non-discrimination language in their contract.
According to Ryan, the SEA is also looking for fair and reasonable evaluation and onboarding systems, as well as an improvement in student learning conditions by way of reducing pre-K class sizes, additional staff support, setting caseload limits, providing space for student evaluation and revamping the pay scale for vocational teachers.
Later in the public speak out, Christina Blinn, a 15-year teacher in Springfield, said that SEA is seeking “a dignified increase” in salary over three years, increased longevity bonuses and adjusted salary scales for specialists and psychologists.
Blinn also said that they want a paid family and medical leave program, competitive compensation of benefits, stipend increases for many areas in the district, the creation of a joint task force for health and safety protocols, and an established violence prevention plan for the workplace.
“We, the members of the Springfield Education Association, stand in solidarity and believe these proposals are fair and reasonable, and will create better learning conditions for students,” Blinn said. “The petition we present to you tonight is a unified call for the Springfield School Committee to act in the best interest of its students, educators, and community by engaging with the SEA’s proposals in good faith to reach a timely resolution.”
Negotiations presentation
After representatives from the SEA presented this petition, the Springfield Public Schools bargaining team gave a presentation to the School Committee that illustrated where they stand in negotiations with the union.
According to Patrick Roach, the chief financial and operations officer for Springfield Public Schools and member of the district’s bargaining team, a lot of what SEA presented, while important, brings “pretty significant costs.”
He noted how the health and safety proposal from the SEA contains a demand for air conditioning in all the schools that would cost $128 million in total to install.
“We want air conditioning in all our schools … it’s something we’re striving for; the district has a plan,” Roach told the School Committee. “But it’s not something we can agree to because we can’t afford it.”
Roach added that the proposals presented by SEA would cost a total of $200 million to achieve, which is $40 million higher than what is budgeted in fiscal year 2025 for teacher salaries.
“When you talk about class sizes and when you talk about prep periods and you talk about facility infrastructure, all of it’s important,” Roach said. “But when you actually put numbers to it, it can be pretty significant.”
According to Valerie Williams, the chief of Human Resources for Springfield Public Schools, the department’s bargaining team has made an initial offer of a 2.5% salary increase, and they have the intent to go higher if SEA retracts some of their other “costly proposals.”
The bargaining team is also negotiating with the SEA on certain language proposals, according to Williams, some of which the district does not believe should be in the collective bargaining agreement.
“We are committed to reach an agreement that is fair and equitable with our SEA members,” Williams said.
Terry Powe, the principal of Brookings Elementary School, said the School Department has already made progress with some of SEA’s proposals and will continue negotiating with them in the future.
“I know the hard, the hard work that the educators in the district do; I get to see it every day,” Powe said. “They work hard. They’re passionate, and I see the dedication that they pour out over the students. Our team would like the majority of the funding to go toward educator salaries. We are working hard to make decisions that affirm all that hard work that’s happening. And we want to make mutual agreements so that we can continue to move forward.”
Next steps, according to the bargaining team, is to meet and work through proposal language.
