APEA at School Committee Budget Meeting, 3/2/23. Click on the right for full article.
- WE NEED SCHOOL COMMITTEE TO MEET US DIRECTLY! Mediation vs. Direct Negotiation: In mediation, the two parties communicate, indirectly, through a state appointed mediator. There can be no silent APEA representatives and therefore it is a less open, less transparent process, as well as a lengthier and more expensive one. More expensive because the district pays for a lawyer for as long as the process takes. In direct negotiation, the two parties can discuss face-to-face, with silent representatives allowed.
Need to Know… from APEA
-
- 2022-23: Educators have not had a cost-of-living raise. In 2022, the cost of food increased by 10.4%.
- 2021: Teachers willingly took 0.6% cost-of-living increase — a concession to allow paras to gain $1.00/hr increase. (Meanwhile, the district GAVE BACK $700K to the municipalities that same year.)
- 2020: Educators received a 1.5% cost-of-living increase.
- 2019: Educators received a 2% cost-of-living increase.
- 2018: Most educators received a $300 increase only.
- 2017: Educators received 1.5% cost-of-living increase.
- 2016: Educators received a 1% cost-of-living increase.
Over a million dollars from the budget is dedicated to district office administrator positions, positions which have increased over the years as educators have taken minimal cost-of-living increases.
- The District cuts student-facing positions. Then, because the needs remain, the district hires consultants and contractors to do work that could be member work.
Need to Know…
- The burden of health insurance costs falls increasingly on school employees.
- 2022-23 increase in health insurance was 3.8%.
- 2023-24 projected 7.94% health insurance increase.
The APEA asked for 3.25%, 4% and 5% for Unit A and B, and 6% for Unit C. This makes up for the burden of increased health insurance costs and years of COLAs that haven’t kept up with inflation. Social Security increased their COLA by 8.7% as required by law to keep up with inflation. We are effectively taking a huge pay cut. Yet the school committee’s highest offer was 2.5%, and they think the APEA is being unreasonable.
But don’t Amherst educators make the highest salaries in the area?
Need to Know…
- Teachers with “only” a master’s degree can never earn $80,000 under the current contract. For teachers to make $80,000, they would need to work a minimum of 14 years in the district and pay for 45 graduate credits out of pocket; which can cost an educator up to $40,000.
- It is easier for teachers in other districts to rise on the salary scale (in Northampton, teachers can work 13 years and with 30 credits earn $80,000; in Longmeadow, teachers with a Masters need to work 15 years with no advanced credits required to earn $80,000.)
- Northampton just agreed to a 3 year contract with 3% increases in each year.
Comparison Amherst/Northampton Unit A Salaries
| 2022-23
Base Starting Salary |
FY 2025
Base Starting Salary |
2022-23
Top Step (Doctorate) |
FY2025
Top Step (Doctorate) |
|
| Amherst | $44,254 | $44, 254 | $90,710 | $90,710 |
| Northampton | $48,135 | $51,066 | $93,448 | $102,185 |
ADDING TO EDUCATOR BURDEN
Need to Know…
- In the recent mediation process, SC proposed adding additional unpaid days to the school year for teachers, lowering the value of our “cost of living increase” to 1.5%, 1.5%, 1%.
- In addition, SC proposes to reduce “Reduction in Force” protections, which would limit the ability for staff and community to fight back against proposed cuts to student classes and services. Under the new language being proposed, the School Committee would have near unlimited power to cut positions well after the budgets have been voted on. This is a practice common in Charter Schools–but not schools with local democratic control.
THE BUDGET CRISIS: A MANUFACTURED CRISIS?
IN THE FALL ‘22–A Positive Financial Outlook:
ARPS Finance Director Douglas Slaughter reported at the 10/11/22 School Committee: As of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022, the district has finished under budget by $687,094, meaning it only spent 97.8 percent of the money it projected to spend. Slaughter reported that the excess was “larger than we would have liked, but not too bad.”
At a November 7th, 2022 meeting, School Committee member Peter Demling said, “I think we take it for granted the great state that we are in in terms of our frugal discipline over years.” The APEA has so many workers forced to find second and third jobs to subsidize the failings of the school budget.
At the December 22nd State of the Schools presentation to the town council, School Committee claimed “after 3 years of flat funding requiring cuts to programs and services, this year’s budget maintains services.”