Wayland Schools Approve Teacher Contract

The Wayland School Committee approved a one-year contract with the teachers union this week as it continues work on three-year agreement.

The one-year agreement is retroactive to July 1 of this year and ends on June 30, 2014, Wayland School Committee member Ellen Greico said during the Oct. 7 meeting.

The one-year agreement includes no changes to health care benefits, a $36,000 payment from the town to the union to be used for teachwe health benefits, Greico said. The deal also includes a small increase in preparation time for school in the morning to alleviate administrative burdens teachers have taken on in recent years, according to Greico. Also, the agreement includes a restructuring of the personal leave system that will not cost the town anything. A new salary schedule designed to “smooth” the seniority increases for teachers is included as well as a restructuring of professional development payments to teachers.

The committee is hoping the three-year agreement that would cover 2015-2017 will be completed this month and voted in soon after, Greico said. The committee plans to publish a report to answer questions on the new contract. 

The approval comes after the town received two differing legal opinions as to whether having one 4-year agreement instead of two separate agreements was a legal. Greico said the town received two opinions – one that said one agreement would be legal and another that said having two separate agreements would be illegal. As a precaution, the committee chose to negotiate two agreements, Greico said. A School Committee member, whom Greico did not specify, raised the original concerns over contract legalities. 

This story is based on a viewing of the WayCam video.