As School Year Closes, Burlington Teacher Contract Close to Final
The Burlington teacher contract is expected to be ratified next week with several points for which teachers have been advocating.
As students close their lockers for the last time and bring home backpacks stuffed full of all that's accumulated in their desks this year, the Burlington Educator's Association is close to agreeing with the district on the Burlington teacher contract.
At last week's School Committee meeting, several teachers appeared both virtually and in person to advocate for a contract that preserves teacher discretion for their flex time and makes adjustments to the school day that would allow for a shorter school year by eliminating standalone professional development days and incorporating weekly early release days for students during which teachers would undergo PD and work on planning and all the other tasks that make up a teacher's job.
An agreement has been reached with the School Committee, and if Union members are satisfied, that agreement will be ratified a week from today. Silent bargainers—members of the Burlington Educator's Association who were not at the negotiating table but who could observe silently and offer input when the negotiations broke for caucus—were a part of the process for the first time, opening up the bargaining process to BEA members and offering additional perspective to the bargaining team.
Key in the draft agreement is the approval of the School-Committee-approved social media policy, improved parental leave (four weeks covered by the district and four weeks using sick time), a 10.5% cost of living adjustment over the next three years, and more. There will also be no change in teacher flex time; the "principal-directed" language is not a part of the new contract, and so teachers will continue to be able to control how that time before and after school is used, says Union President Sean Musselman.
There has been no change to the district calendar or schedule at this point, but a working group is expected to be established after the start of the school year to look into how both could be improved to better meet student needs and teacher professional development and lesson planning requirements.
The ratification vote will be held on Thursday, June 27.