Boston Teachers Union begins negotiations on new contract

The Boston Teachers Union met with leaders of Boston Public Schools Thursday afternoon to begin negotiating a new three-year contract that prioritizes improved facilities, higher pay for paraprofessionals and greater student mental health supports.

The union's current contract, which was last hammered out in 2022, expires in August. The association counts more than 10,000 members, including teachers, school psychologists, guidance counselors and other instructors for the state's largest school district.

Recent years have seen tense teacher contract negotiations in suburban Massachusetts school districts, particularly over teacher wages and cost of living increases, leading, most recently, to an extensive teacher strike in Newton.

While Boston Teachers Union president Jessica Tang said union leaders are going into the negotiations feeling positive, she added they are willing to fight hard for the working conditions and student supports they believe the school community deserves.

"It's really a vision for what all of our schools should have in order for our district to be a world class district that's comparable to more well-funded districts in our suburbs," she said of the group's initial proposal.

Boston Public Schools serves roughly 45,000 students across 119 school buildings.

The initial collective bargaining package outlines the union's priorities, which in addition to better facilities and higher pay, seeks more inclusive learning opportunities for English learners and students with special needs in general education environments.

The union is also requesting "a strong and equitable general wage increase for all employees ... that allows employees to keep pace with the increasing costs of living in our area" and an extra $4 an hour for paraprofessionals, or teacher aides, in addition to the general wage increase. The average teacher salary in Boston is about $105,000 per year, according to state data, while paraprofessionals make approximately $50,000 a year.

Teachers want "financial stability" and "a salary that allows them to support their families, pay off student loans, and save for the future," the BTU proposal states, adding instructors are often "purchasing classroom supplies out of their own pockets."

Proposals regarding school facilities include basic demands, like ensuring that every school has lab space and science class equipment. But BTU also wants the district to pledge holding a specific number of forums or town halls with the school community before any planned school merger, relocation or closure and to provide evidence it met with at least 60% of any impacted school's staff, parents and students through such forums or otherwise.

Tang referenced the district's recently scrapped plan to move the John D. O'Bryant School from Roxbury to West Roxbury — which received stiff pushback from teachers and parents since it was announced. "We think there needs to be a more intentional process around making sure stakeholders are consulted before these decisions are made," Tang said.

Student support services are also a high priority for the union. In 2019, the union successfully negotiated that all of Boston's public schools would have a full-time nurse and that every school would be staffed with a social worker.

BPS leadership recently expanded the number of student mental health professionals in each school building, a move that was made possible using federal COVID-19 relief funds. The BTU proposal asks BPS to maintain this support even after the funds expire in September.

The union is also pushing the district to add more English language instructors to classrooms to provide extra support to teachers. Tang said educators who work in schools serving many of the newly-arrived migrant students are struggling to effectively teach all of their students when they are the only instructor in a classroom.

"They just don't have enough minutes right now to be the general education teacher by themselves and provide the English language supports that our newcomers need," she said.

Leaders with Boston Public Schools say they look forward to the negotiating process.

"We are treating this as a dialogue with our closest and most important partner," said Boston superintendent Mary Skipper in a written statement, adding "we look forward to our continued collaboration with the BTU in providing our students with many pathways to success."