Amherst Teachers To Work Without Contract After Failed Negotiations

Teachers in the Amherst School District will be without a contract after a negotiation failure.

The Amherst Education Association announced on Tuesday that their group and the Amherst School Board could not reach a settlement on a contract bfore the Jan. 8 deadline.

This means that Pre-K-8 teachers will be working without a contract, which the group said is the third time this has happened in the past nine years.

The AEA is not pleased with the outcome and expressed their frustration on Facebook yesterday.

"The Amherst Education Association has already voiced significant concerns over the Board’s proposed 2014 budget, which relies on unprecedented reductions in teaching staff and increases in class size based on fiscal reasons rather than educational policy. Coupled with the failure to settle a contract, the AEA feels the Board was not willing to explore any options that would best serve the Amherst voters and the teachers that serve them."

The Amherst and Souhegan School Boards will be holding their public hearings on proposed budgets tonight beginning at 6 p.m. in the Souhegan High School theatre.