PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee last week formally approved a three-year contract with the United Educators of Pittsfield after more than a year of negotiations.

Under the contract, teachers will make between about $65,000 at Step 1 with a bachelor's degree and about $128,500 at Step 18 with a doctorate in fiscal year 2027. It also reduces the number of half days scheduled for professional development.

The UEP represents classroom teachers, guidance counselors, department heads, and other specialists.

"UEP started looking at what we wanted to present for the contract back in October of 2023," President Jeanne Lemmond said after the vote was made at Reid Middle School on Wednesday.

"We started negotiating with the School Committee in January of 2024, and it's nice to finally have it finalized and completed so that we can move forward and work on other things in our district."

Lemmond has urged the settling of a contract during open microphone portions of School Committee meetings, highlighting the importance of properly supporting the city's educators.

"We looked at trying to get paid parental leave, which was huge. We looked at trying to stay competitive in the county as far as our salary increases. We looked at finalizing some job descriptions that needed to be kind of cleaned up and clear, and also some stipend positions that needed to be worked on," she said on Wednesday.

"And then a lot of it was more on some of the evaluation process. A new evaluation system that we had piloted finally made it into the contract."

She explained that the new evaluation system for staff who have completed two two-year cycles after achieving professional status, which in Massachusetts is gained after completing three consecutive school years in a school district.

"They can create their own project that then is evaluated, and they can use that project to help teach other people in the district for professional development," Lemmond explained.

"It's relevant. For example, it would be like a high school teacher who wants to create a new course. They could use that time to develop that instead of just being evaluated on their general teaching practices. Seeing as though most of the stuff that we do now is already digitized, you can see the growth students are doing, so they can do something that has more meaning to them."

If qualified, educators can choose to be evaluated through the "UEP+7" system that allows them to explore new ideas, strategies, and educational initiatives by working on projects that align with their specific areas of interest, teaching methods, or classroom needs.

"Throughout the project, educators actively gather data, reflect on their findings, and make evidence-based decisions to enhance their teaching and student learning outcomes. This alternative pathway emphasizes professional growth and encourages educators to take ownership of their development," the contract reads.

"Rather than a traditional evaluation, the emphasis is on supporting educators in their journey to become more effective, reflective, and informed practitioners. It provides them with the flexibility to set their own goals, explore new teaching approaches, and contribute to the broader educational community through their research and development efforts. This pathway will offer educators the chance to propose a project focused on their own professional exploration, growth, and development."

The School Committee approved the contract the week before, but after Chair William Cameron consulted with the union's leadership and its Massachusetts Teachers Association field representative, it was determined that a misunderstanding in the vote warranted another approval.

Because of this, the vote was made Wednesday before the first of three interim superintendent interviews began.

"The School Committee amended the document presented for ratification on Wednesday, April 30, through a misunderstanding of what were eleventh-hour changes the union was seeking in the agreement. Those changes affect certain categories of employees which the UEP has represented for some years. The Committee believed that in correcting what it thought was an error in the document it was thereby accommodating the UEP's request. That turns out not to have been the case. Hence the need for a re-vote," Cameron explained via email.

"I am grateful to Jeanne Lemmond, the UEP's president, and to the UEP's membership for understanding how a mistaken interpretation of the pertinent provision in the document could have occurred. I am grateful as well, for their support of our intention to vote promptly on an unamended version of the agreements the parties reached."

He reported receiving administrative assurance that the delay in getting a final agreement ratified will have no adverse effect on the timing of unit members receiving the retroactive pay they are owed for the 2024-2025 contract year.

UEP Settlement Agreement by Brittany Polito

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