8/7/2019 Watertown teachers contract still in limbo
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Watertown teachers contract still in limbo
By Laura PaineWicked Local WatertownPosted Mar 04, 2011 @ 04:00
PM
WATERTOWN A month after Watertown teachers ratified a new
contract, it remains unsignedand is not likely to be signed at the
School Committee meeting next week.
The teachers union president has criticized delaying the vote,
but committee chairman Tony Paolillosaid the contents of the
contract which have not yet been made public are not behind the
delay.
[The contract is] an issue, but its the total package, Paolillo
told the Watertown TAB & Press. Itsa loss of the stimulus
money. If it wasnt that and we werent facing a very difficult
financial situation, Idont think the contract would be any issue at
all.
Earlier in the budget process, Paolillo said the town would lose
about $700,000 in federal stimulusfunding this year.
Paolillo said the School Committee met on Feb. 28 in executive
session to discuss the detail on thenumbers and see where they are
at in the process. He said hell update the public on the contracts
statusat the March 7 School Committee meeting.
There are a lot of moving parts here from the standpoint of the
amount of money we are trying to
make up, not just in the teachers contract, but in the rest of
the budget, Paolillo said.The School Committee was originally
expected to ratify the contract at the regular meeting on Feb.
10 but instead opted to hold off until the impact of the
contract could be discussed with the TownCouncil. However, that
meeting hasnt happened.
We are doing things differently than we have done them in the
past as a part of moving forward insome different directions of
better communication, Town Council President and School
Committeemember Mark Sideris told the TAB. The only reason there
would be a meeting is to keep the council inthe loop. I will say
that the council doesnt have a say in this particular matter.
The WEA and the School Committee reached a tentative agreement
on Jan. 25 after negotiations thathad gone on since last August and
included three sessions with a mediator. The teachers ratified
thecontract on Feb. 4.
WEA President Deb King wrote to the Watertown TAB, saying that
delaying the vote was an almostunprecedented move and negates the
hard work of the teachers and neglect the importance of
puttingnegotiations behind us.
King did not immediately return calls to comment on the ongoing
discussion.The next School Committee meeting is scheduled for March
7 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
Laura Paine can be reached at [email protected]
2011 Watertown TAB. Some rights reserved
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