The Lynnfield Teachers Association expressed disappointment with their current contract in a letter to Superintendent of Schools Kristen Vogel and School Committee Chair Rich Sjoberg. The Daily Item obtained the letter written by Association President Alexandria Cellucci.
“I am reaching out on behalf of the LTA with regards to the recently approved market adjustments for the superintendent and assistant superintendents,” Cellucci wrote in the letter. “As we all know, there have been cuts in direct student-facing positions, including teachers, interventionists, and tutors, over the past few years while at the same time, teachers have been tasked with taking on many new initiatives to support the rigorous academic and social-emotional programs that serve all of our students.”
In the letter, Cellucci said that teachers have become overworked due to the lower number of interventionists and tutors. According to Cellucci, classroom educators have been asked to plan and deliver targeted ELA and math interventions outside their main lessons.
“New curricula, such as Wit & Wisdom, require considerable planning time to deliver instruction with fidelity,” Cellucci wrote in the letter. “Given the notice at the end of the school year, teachers at the middle school had to plan for their Wit & Wisdom curriculum this summer, although formal training on implementation will not occur until November. Additional data meetings are occupying time for planning lessons, assessing students, and routine communication with families.”
The letter predominantly focuses on the alterations made to the contracts of teachers and tutors in light of the raises given to Vogel and assistant superintendents at Lynnfield Public Schools last month.
Doubts regarding the raises were brought up a couple of times by residents in School Committee meetings. Last month, Jim Crawford, who lives in town, spoke against the School Committee’s decision to charge the public $150 per hour for using Lynnfield High School’s gym and basketball courts.
“You guys are claiming that there is a budget shortfall,” Crawford said during the meeting last week. “Now you’re charging town residents for public use for buildings they’re already paying for through taxes, and at the same time, you are also making a very rare move of giving raises when it’s not contract-renewal time.”
Sjoberg attributed the raises to wanting to have a consistent foundation of leadership in the district and at the schools.
“During our review of the superintendent’s contract, it came to our attention that in the last year, there were 52 superintendent positions open in the state, and the lowest salary being offered to a brand new superintendent was $204,000 — $11,000 more than what Lynnfield is offering its current superintendent,” Sjoberg said. “It was our thought that it would be not only fair to give a raise to the superintendent, but would also help provide consistency in leadership.”
The letter ended with the association requesting that the superintendent and School Committee develop a plan in collaboration with the teachers’ union that will help “attract and retain” educators and provide students with “well-rounded and high-quality” education.
“We do hope to work collaboratively with the superintendent and the school committee to address our staffing needs,” Cellucci told The Item. “We have staffing needs like many other districts in the state and it’s obviously affecting our students. Creating a positive workplace culture is not just about one specific thing, it is about having our educators feel supported, and respected, and also looking at workload and wages. There are multiple facets to it. And so, we would like to work together to look at all of those things to retain and attract staff.”
Superintendent Vogel said that the district and School Committee will work with the association to address the issues and find common ground.
“We continue to have a very collaborative relationship with our teachers’ union and do everything we can to support them in every way through professional development, and we certainly want to work with them,” Vogel told The Item. “Our priority has always been to hire the best educators we can. We do recognize that there are many challenges facing all of us in the world of education around hiring educators, but in Lynnfield, we have amazing professionals and support in the community. We believe that we will continue to attract the best educators there are.”
