Published in the April 14, 2020 edition.

By MARK SARDELLA

WAKEFIELD — It was a good Friday for Wakefield teachers who are in line to receive a 9 percent pay raise between now and Aug. 31, 2023, after the School Committee voted unanimously to approve two new agreements with the Wakefield Education Association (the teachers’ union). The meeting was held by teleconference and streamed live on WCAT at 2 p.m. on Good Friday.

The two contracts approved were a one-year agreement covering the current year (Sept. 1, 2019 to Aug. 31, 2020) and a three-year contract that will run from Sept. 1, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2023.

The terms and provisions of the two agreements were not laid out or discussed during the public meeting prior to the votes to approve the contracts. School Committee chairman Christopher Callanan later provided a summary of the contract terms after the Daily Item requested the information.

The financial terms of the agreements are as follows:

One Year Agreement:

Sept. 1, 2019 – Aug. 31, 2020: 2 percent increase

Three Year Agreement:

Year 1 (Sept. 1, 2020 – Aug. 31, 2021): 2 percent increase

Year 2 (Sept. 1, 2021 – Aug. 31, 2022): 2.5 percent increase

Year 3 (Sept. 1, 2022 – Aug. 31, 2023): 2.5 percent increase

The following summary of other new provisions in the contract was also forwarded to the Item by Callanan:

• The new contracts (the one-year agreement and the three-year agreement) recognize POST Academy and Doyle faculty.

• The WMHS Mid-Year Exam Schedule is now a full-day schedule.

• Unit A chaperones and teacher substitute rates have increased, which will support our ability to cover events and classes more efficiently.

• Teachers will be compensated to participate in Instructional Leadership Teams after school, which increase continuity in daily instruction at the K-4 levels.

• Two Science Specialists will be added at upper elementary to support the instruction of science.

• Greater opportunities for K-4 teachers to assess student growth using data.

• Lead stipend for a nurse who can better support the health and care needs of students and coordinate professional development for the team of nurses.

• Improved school calendar with fewer full (two) and half days (eight) for Professional Development.

The votes on both contracts were 6-0, with Callanan, Thomas Markham, Suzy Veilleux, Anne Fortier, Colleen Guida and Aimee Purcell voting in favor. School Committee member Thomas Flynn abstained from attending the meeting because his daughter is a School Department employee.

Wakefield teachers had been without a new contract since the last one expired on Aug. 31, 2019.

Markham, who chairs the Labor Relations Subcommittee and participated in negotiations, noted that the teachers’ union membership voted overwhelmingly to accept the new contracts earlier last week. He thanked the teachers for their “patience and professionalism.”

“We have a contract that we should be proud of,” he said. “We have a contract that’s good for teachers, that’s good for Wakefield Public Schools and, most importantly, good for students.”