New contract approved for Peabody teachers

PEABODY – It’s been a long journey, but Peabody teachers are just one short step away from seeing a new contract.For three long hours Tuesday night, School Committee members sat in executive session discussing the few line items responsible for the agreement’s delay. At approximately 8:45 p.m., they emerged showing signs of great relief.”At the end of good discussion and debate, we have voted unanimously to accept the terms,” announced School Committee member Dave McGeney. “The citizens were well served with our time.””Discussions are always difficult and time consuming,” said fellow member Beverley Ann Griffin Dunne, adding that great time and effort was devoted to the important task. “Overall, this is going to help us greatly to carry out our vision for the schools.”Details of the contract were not yet available to the Item, as it has not been finalized. The agreement will have to first be reviewed by Mayor Michael Bonfanti before it goes into effect.”I am well aware that people are anxious and will move on it quickly,” said Bonfanti. He expects to have the contract reviewed within the next day or two.If the mayor approves and signs the agreement, Peabody teachers are sure to be pleased, as they have spent the last year and a half working under an expired contract. According to McGeney, those teachers will receive retroactive pay for that time.Bonfanti cited the turn in the economy as one of the main factors that drew the process out longer than anticipated. He said that many items that were agreed upon some time ago had to be looked at again because of the current financial circumstances.However, as the process carried on, tensions continued to rise among teachers. Feeling they could no longer stand by and wait patiently, they began demonstrating across the city, expressing their discontent with the slow moving pace. They organized rallies, picketed outside of city hall, and most recently, marched silently during a school committee meeting.After hiring a mediator to help speed up the process, the contract was finally ratified during the wee hours of the morning on Oct. 29. Scheduling conflicts and last minute differences in opinion held up its approval until last night.McGeney said last night that during it all, Bruce Nelson, President of the Peabody Federation of Teachers and his fellow negotiators were consummate professionals. He thanked them for their professionalism and patience.”I look forward to starting on a new day,” he said.