The Swampscott School Committee and Swampscott Education Association deserve praise for reaching a tentative agreement on a proposed teachers’ contract.
Following a year of sometimes-acrimonious negotiations, both sides reached a tentative agreement on April 30. Final talks leading up to the agreement were conducted virtually in keeping with coronavirus social distancing precautions. The committee has scheduled a ratification vote on May 27.
By coming to an agreement, the union and the committee showed town residents that they are ready to focus on the critical education priorities emerging from two months of coronavirus.
The pandemic emptied schools in Swampscott and forced educators to devise at-home education plans and start planning for what form education will take in the fall.
Committee members will pore over town spending projections prior to the May 27 ratification vote. The union has committed to “… moving on to higher priorities, such as online learning and the health and safety of our students and families.”
The Association’s bargaining team sought a 3 percent raise for teachers for each year of a three-year contract. Without revealing agreement details, union representatives acknowledged they agreed to a reduced financial package “that would not have been accepted outside our current situation.”
Committee members took the prudent step of delaying a scheduled May 13 ratification vote to review budget projections. Action by the committee on May 27 sets the stage for local educators and town officials to start spending time without the distraction of protracted bargaining talks to plan how town students will be taught when a new school year starts.
Coronavirus upended life as we all knew it prior to mid-March. No one knows for sure yet what a “new normal” will look like. The people who care about Swampscott kids and who care about good town government set aside ill-will, accusations and differing viewpoints to start the hard work of figuring out how education will move forward in the fall.
