The Swampscott School Committee unanimously approved new contracts for the education support professionals, tutors and teachers. 

Contract negotiations between the unions and the School Committee began in November, according to Chair Glenn Paster. The committee members and Superintendent Pamela Angelakis consistently emphasized the collaboration and “hard work” that defined the process.

“Three contracts, five months,” Superintendent Pamela Angelakis said. “Who does that?”

All three contracts will include a cost of living adjustment (COLA) increase by 3% by fiscal year 2028. Cheryl Herrick-Stella, the assistant superintendent of finance and operations, told the Swampscott Tides that the increases remain within the town’s budget projections. The exact financial impact of the COLA increase is uncertain due to factors like teacher degree changes and staff turnover.

Paster described the overall negotiations experience as “amazing.”

“I’ve learned so much about the ins and outs of what the teachers go through every single day,” Paster said. “I think the teachers hopefully learned what we have had to deal with on our side and what our last dealings were.”

Committee members and Angelakis highlights the use of interest-based bargaining, where the School Committee and unions addressed issues directly rather through intermediaries. The group called the interest-based bargaining more proactive to address the “little issues” as well because “both sides work together to figure it out.”

“You can’t do that without the foundation,” Angelakis said. “That’s both sides willing to listen, willing to do the training.”

School Committee Member John Giantis noted that it was unusual, yet valuable, for the full committee to participate in the negotiations, rather than delegating to a subcommittee.

“Each one of us brought a very unique set of skills,” Giantis said. 

Education Support Professional Contract

The new contracts for the education support professionals (ESP) increased the work year to 182 days, aligning with teachers and tutors. 

Paster said the wage increase was a reflection of the ESPs’ “role and importance in the school district.” 

“I do want to make it clear to everybody that the educators in that role were incredibly clear of how important the ESP workers are, and they spoke volumes to the School Committee,” Paster said. 

Provisions for district aid and disability coverage were removed from the ESP contracts, according to Paster.

A longevity pay increase was added at all levels, ranging from $50 to $200 per level. 

The contract also includes a commitment to reduce lunch and recess duties for ESPs.

Tutor Contract

Paster praised the district’s tutors but acknowledged that their wages were previously uncompetitive, saying they had “fallen under the radar.”

“The pool is very small,” Paster said. “Other districts around us, candidly, were paying them. If you can drive five extra minutes, I’d take the extra dollars. So we made really sure that the tutors know that we appreciate their work and brought them onto what we consider a wage that’ll have them working in this district.”

The contract includes provisions for period pay, ensuring tutors receive consistent paychecks throughout the school year.

“That was very important to the union,” Paster said. 

Similar to the ESPs, there was also a longevity increase at every level, ranging from $50 to $200 per level. 

Teacher Contract

The teachers were “by far the largest unit” that was a part of the negotiations, according to Paster. 

“It was important for us to learn what we can learn and to work with the teachers to see what was important to them,” Paster said. “We worked as two teams that were basically in locked step to make this happen. I’m just so excited of all of us.”

To improve competitiveness, the district is eliminating the first pay step for teachers, meaning new hires will start at the second-year pay level.

“We were very low,” Herrick-Stella told the Swampscott Tides. “We are trying to attract new teachers.”

The contract limits “lane changes,” salary increases due to advanced degrees, to once per school year.

“That was incredibly important to the School Committee, and that was also incredibly important to the Finance Committee,” Paster said. “In this manner we could have some consistencies as we go into our budget year-to-year.”

Vice Chair Amy O’Connor noted that the collaborative negotiations helped the district avoid the labor disputes seen in other districts across the state, which often leads to a stoppage in work. 

Becka Bucklin and Sue Comparato were at the meeting to represent the union. 

“I am incredibly grateful for all of you and for our team and for Sue working together and being vulnerable and being able to discuss,” Bucklin said. “It wasn’t just about reaching an agreement. It was about truly working with one another, problem solving, compromising and building something we could all stand behind…I’m incredibly grateful for this process, and I hope that it continues for years to come.”