Nahant teachers currently in talks for new contract

NAHANT – Teachers in town have been working without a contract since August, but Interim Superintendent Joseph Lisi said a new three-year contract is currently being negotiated.Calls to Union President Dorothy Peever were not immediately returned on Thursday. But Lisi, who started work on Sept. 4, said negotiations with the teachers union have been cordial and it is important to get a contract in place as soon as possible.”We’ve had two very positive meetings,” he said. “The teachers are real professionals and very dedicated. I expect we will have a contract in place within a few weeks.”Former Superintendent /Principal Denise Littlefield, who resigned Oct. 31, was unable to negotiate a contract before her abrupt departure.The teachers union is the only union in town currently working without a contract. Due to the Education Reform Act of 1997, teachers contracts are negotiated by the school department, not town officials. Nahant Town Administrator Mark Cullinan signed agreements with the police, fire and Department of Public Works unions in June. Cullinan said the contracts, which went into effect July 1, gave workers in all three departments a 4 percent raise the first year, 3 percent the second year and 3 percent in the final year of the contract. Cullinan said union contracts on the town side are equitable across departments in terms of vacation time, personal time, longevity and raises.