Opinion :: Guest Opinion
Letter sent in advance of Thursday’s Council Hearing urging resolution of teachers’ contract
Thursday Jun 7, 2012
Eleven Boston City Councilors are sending a letter on Thursday, June 6th, to Boston Public Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson and Boston Teachers Union President Richard Stutman urging both parties to settle the teachers contract dispute as soon as possible. The letter is being sent as the two parties begin mediation after negotiations reached an impasse in March. The contract negotiations have been on-going for almost two years.
The letter calls for reforms to the contract including a longer school day, timely and effective teacher evaluation, greater flexibility in teacher hiring and reassignment, and an increased and strengthened parent and student voice in school-based decision making.
City Councilor John Connolly said, "Parents, students, and the entire Boston community are directly impacted by this contract. We want the two parties to break the impasse as soon as possible and give Boston’s children and families the best while showing the utmost respect for our teachers."
The letter comes in advance of a hearing to be convened Thursday at 3:00 p.m. by the City Council’s Committee on Education, chaired by Councilor Connolly. The hearing will pressure for contract resolution and examine the impact of the contract impasse on BPS children and families. Members of the Boston United for Students Coalition as well as individual parents and students are expected to testify.
Council Hearing on teachers’ contract Thursday at 3 p.m.
What: A hearing regarding the impact on students and families of the negotiation impasse between Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union
Where: Iannella Chamber, 5th Floor of Boston City Hall.
When: 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 7th.
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