North Andover Teachers Working Under Expired Contract

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — The teachers union is asking the district to bring salaries for educators in line with other schools in the area. Teachers have been working under an expired contract since Sept. 1.

The two sides of been working to reach a new agreement since December of last year. The School Committee said in a statement that they have offered "what we believe to be a fair and competitive salary proposal."

"The past three negotiated agreements have averaged just over 6% for each three-year period, and our initial offer in these negotiations was in line with the past agreements," the School Committee wrote in a statement. Since then, the committee has increased its salary proposal twice. The current offer would bring teacher salaries in line with neighboring districts, according to the School Committee.

However, Juliette Darmon, president of the North Andover Teachers Association, noted that "North Andover teachers currently earn substantially less than their counterparts in other similar districts... North Andover is one of the few districts in the region where a starting teacher earns under $50,000. The School Committee’s 12.5% salary offer over three years would still leave North Andover educators far below the median salary for similar area comparable districts."

The School Committee said that they cannot "in good conscience offer any more than this without increasing risks of cuts to the School District budget in the coming years."

The union disagrees, saying that the School Committee "can afford to keep its promise." The union noted that the town is receiving "increases in state funding, new growth tax dollars and has the means to pay its teachers at least at the median of what similar area districts pay their teachers."

Failing to adequately compensate teachers would mean losing educators to higher-paying districts, according to the union.

"North Andover educators call on the School Committee to return to the bargaining table, and negotiate the contract that North Andover teachers and students deserve," the union wrote in a statement.

The North Andover Teachers Association will hold a rally Thursday, Oct. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at central office at 566 Main St. ahead of the School Committee Meeting.