The Newton Teachers Association (NTA) filed a Step 3 grievance with the Newton School Committee on June 22, alleging that leaking roofs and water damage continue to create unsafe conditions in six Newton Public schools despite recent repair efforts by the district. The grievance followed Superintendent Anna Nolin’s June 5 denial of the union’s Step 2 grievance.
In her response, Dr. Nolin stated that roofing contractor Aqua Barriers had repaired leaks at Bowen Elementary, Underwood Elementary, Memorial-Spaulding Elementary, Brown Middle School, Bigelow Middle School, and Newton South High School throughout the spring. According to the Superintendent’s response, the district repaired leaks as they were reported and therefore did not violate the teachers’ contract or state safety regulations. The response also stated that no evidence had been presented showing employees were affected in a way that required additional remedies.
The NTA disputes that conclusion. Alongside its Step 3 grievance, the union released photographs showing stained ceiling tiles, damaged ceilings and buckets and trash cans placed beneath active leaks. The union argues that while repairs have been attempted, the underlying problems remain unresolved.
“We agree there should be no leaks,” Dr. Nolin told Fig City News. However, she said that the NTA’s continuous grievances misrepresents the Schools Committee’s attention to these matters.
“We are repairing them each time a leak comes up,” said Dr. Nolin. She added that many of the district’s roofs have deteriorated over decades because of long-term underinvestment. “The biggest issue here is that, for decades, the city and school system did not attend to consistent repairs,” she said. “When the roof becomes this old and degraded, it becomes a game of constant repair until the roof is replaced.”
Ryan Normandin, speaking on behalf of the NTA, told Fig City News that the NTA “does not believe [the School Committee] has addressed all of the problems with the leaks.” Normandin agrees that “repair efforts may be ongoing,” but “grievances certainly have not been resolved.”
Normandin said that the recent repairs amount to “short-term solutions,” and argued that permanent roof replacements should be prioritized instead. He pointed to the district’s capital improvement list, noting that Burr Elementary School is ranked No. 174 and Newton South High School No. 122 among proposed projects. “These are pressing issues,” said Normandin. “The city needs to put in money so we are fixing the roofs permanently, not just patching them.”
Dr. Nolin said she was “unaware of any students being harmed by the leaking roofs,” although “it is certainly a distraction.” Normandin challenged that assessment, citing a May 26 incident in which a 2.5-pound block of concrete fell from the roof at Underwood Elementary School.
“We’re very lucky it didn’t impact a student by crushing the student’s head or impact a faculty member by crushing their head,” he said.
The union argues that deteriorating building conditions affect both staff and students. “What kind of schools do you want your students learning in? Are you saying that you’re okay with students learning in buildings that are decrepit, that are just kind of falling apart in front of you, that have visible leaks and water damage and mold?”
Although both the NTA and the School Committee say they share the goal of providing safe learning environments, they continue to disagree over whether the district’s repair efforts have adequately addressed the problem.
“The NTA intends to continue to pursue actions to try to make sure that [their], our members and [their] students have safe and healthy buildings to teach and learn in, ” Normandin said.
Note: The school district is on a “soft close” status from June 29 through July 12, “to allow professional administrators and year-round educators a break from responding to building and community emails and visits.” Most calls and emails will be returned after that period.
Leah Griener is a Fig City News summer intern, a rising senior at Newton South High School, and co-Editor-in-Chief of the Denebola.