SAUGUS — The School Committee on Monday unanimously approved a new collective bargaining agreement with the Saugus Educators’ Association, the union representing employees at the town’s schools.
The agreement will run for the next three years, and was hammered out by administrators, members of the school committee, and representatives from the educators association. The committee had gone into executive session at its previous two meetings to discuss the negotiations. Chair Vincent Serino recused himself from the vote, making the final tally four to zero.
Committee member Ryan Fisher thanked committee Vice Chair John Hatch for the role he played in the negotiations, praising Hatch for the work he did to help build trust between the committee and the teachers.
“We were able to sit with the teachers and they came to every meeting … it was time away from their families as well, and they really worked hard at it,” Fisher said. “One of the things we tried to do was say, ‘Here are the collective problems we have, let’s not blame each other, let’s throw everything on the table and try and find a solution that works.’ One of the things in this agreement is that we keep talking so this isn’t like ‘see you in 2025.’ This is going to be continued negotiations for the next three years to get the best deal that we can over time.”
Hatch added that he believed Saugus students would benefit the most from the deal reached.
“It was exciting to see the educators work with us to the best interest of the students at the end of the day, which helped us get to where we are tonight in a pretty fast way,” he said.
Superintendent Erin McMahon thanked Saugus educators for “exemplifying professionalism and collaboration.”
“It really, really speaks well to the educators in Saugus,” she said. “It just continues to strengthen the fabric of Saugus public schools.”
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].
