SWAMPSCOTT — The School Committee voted unanimously to approve a 15-article contract for the district’s tutors through the 2024-25 school year at its latest meeting.
Superintendent of Schools Pamela Angelakis deferred to Committee Vice Chair John Giantis and Committee member Amy O’Connor as they gave an overview of the negotiations with the tutors’ unit of the Swampscott Education Association. O’Connor emphasized the importance of the agreement in a field where there is inherently a lot of turnover. The contract is based on that of the State Teachers Association’s Education Support Professionals union.
“The goal of unionizing was for job security. One of the most important pieces of this was identifying a policy, even if we have to downsize, how different roles are tapped,” O’Connor said. “It wasn’t the easiest, but we got to a good place.”
The contract includes a 2% cost-of-living adjustment.
Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Cheryl Herrick-Stella also announced during Thursday’s meeting that Swampscott High School’s driver’s education program will see a fee increase in the 2024-25 school year. The $75 increase will raise the total cost of the program to $725.
“As a reminder, last spring the driver’s education director, with the approval of the superintendent, presented a multi-year plan to increase the fees for our driver’s education program to become more aligned with what other programs charge and remain competitive to ensure we can hire individuals as instructors,” Herrick-Stella wrote in a statement to the committee.
Another $75 increase is currently slated for the 2025-26 school year, which would bring the cost of the program to the district’s goal of $800.
