After the Newton School Committee and Newton Teachers Association (NTA) negotiating teams met for nine hours on January 20, each issued a statement. The next negotiation session is scheduled for Sunday, January 21, 10AM-7PM. School Committee Statement The Newton School Committee’s statement provided charts comparing the NPS proposals with peer…
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On January 19, Fig City News received this open letter from a group of Newton parent-teacher organizations. The letter concludes with a call on the Mayor “to fully fund the Newton Public Schools and for all parties to bargain in good faith to end this strike immediately.” On January 20,…
The Newton Teachers Association (NTA) voted to strike on Thursday, January 18. In response, hundreds of their members, Newton high school students, parents, and city residents responded to an NTA rally – in 30-degree weather – at 1PM on Friday, January 19 (see press release). Supporters flooded the Newton War…
School Committee and NTA hold first mediation session since January 8. On the evening of January 19, the Newton Public Schools community received two updates on the NPS/NTA negotiations: an update from the School Committee’s negotiation team and an update from the Mayor. The School Committee’s update informed the NPS…
Following the Department of Labor Relation’s ruling late yesterday, Middlesex County Superior Court has issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the Newton School Committee. The text of the injunction ruling reads: Preliminary Injunction issued for Plaintiff Commonwealth Employment Relations Board. It is ordered and adjudged that Defendants(s) Newton Teachers…
Ruling establishes fact of illegal strike, however State Superior Court would impose potential penalties. The Massachusetts Commonwealth Employment Relations Board (“CERB”) issued a ruling that the Newton Teacher’s Association (“NTA”) and the employees it represents, prior to their vote on January 18 “are about to engage in a strike in…
As a potential strike by the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) looms Friday, parents fed up with stalled contract negotiations rallied outside of City Hall on Wednesday morning, to make their voices heard. “Staff morale is abysmally low,” said Alison Lobron, an organizer with the Newton Parent/Educator Collaborative who spoke at…
On January 18, a group of 22 City Councilors sent an open letter to the Newton Public Schools community ahead of the vote by the membership of the Newton Teachers Association, expected later in the day, on whether or not to strike. The letter calls for “an immediate return to…
On January 17, the Newton Teachers Association (NTA) published a response to the NPS slides and discussion points presented by School Committee Chair Chris Brezski at a question-and-answer session held by NPS with PTO leaders and the public on January 16 (see Fig City News article on that session). Among…
School Committee files Petition for Strike Investigation. Since the start of the new year, rumors regarding an imminent strike by Newton Public Schools (NPS) educators have gained traction, first on social media, then in the Charles River Regional Chamber of Commerce newsletter on January 12, and then over this past…
As Katani Sumner started to perform Lift Every Voice and Sing on January 15, she encouraged the entire audience in the Newton North High School auditorium to join in as the moving lyrics were projected behind her. The Newton South High School METCO counselor’s rousing rendition of the more than…
On January 16, the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) released the results of a study of the past 20 years of the impact of the METCO program on METCO students and their suburban peers. This longitudinal study, conducted by Tufts University Assistant Professor of Economics, Elizabeth Setren, found that…