Mountain View School in Easthampton.
GAZETTE FILE PHOTO
EASTHAMPTON — The union representing teachers and other educators in the Easthampton Public School District is making a pitch for the school administration to incorporate unexpected school funding from the state this fiscal year into a new contract currently under negotiation.
The additional funds come in the form of state aid, known as Chapter 70, which will offer about $117,000 more than projected from revenue generated by the Fair Share Act.
At a City Council meeting on Aug. 7, Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle told councilors that the unanticipated Chapter 70 money will be awarded to the schools, and decisions on how it will be spent will be overseen by interim Superintendent Maureen Binienda and Director of Business Services Nicholas Bernier.
Binienda declined to comment on how the money will be dispersed when contacted by the Gazette, deferring questions to LaChapelle, who could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the Easthampton Education Association said the additional school funding could provide a clearer path toward a settled contract between the association and the School Committee.
“We are making significantly less than most experienced teachers around us,” said Margaret Betts, vice president of the Easthampton Education Association. “Even though we’re not at the place we want to be with those wage gaps, this additional funding will allow us to fill those negotiation gaps and still have… thousands of dollars left over.”
Betts commended the city for “its responsible sorting of money in the community,” resulting in no programs or positions being cut this fiscal year, contrasting with surrounding school districts which struggled to reconcile the absence of pandemic-era funding this school year.
However, she emphasized that retaining and attracting highly qualified staff is a major priority of Easthampton schools, which she believes requires more competitive pay and benefits. In particular, Betts stated that the Education Association hopes to secure better compensation for paraprofessionals and other staff, such as those in custodial and administrative positions.
“The most important workers in a school district are the paraprofessionals. They allow the special education programs to succeed,” she said. “Their opportunity to earn is much lower than the average hourly wage worker.”
This, Betts said, is because paraprofessionals are only compensated for the roughly 82 days that they are at work, without the ability to earn overtime pay.
With this additional funding, settling a contract with the School Committee could become an easier feat. Betts said she hopes to have a contract finalized before the school year starts, or at least within the first few weeks of it beginning.
Laura Scott, chair of the Easthampton School Committee, also has high hopes for this unexpected funding, though she cautions that the new money is “not an enormous increase.”
Scott said that the committee is looking to use the money for either finalizing contract negotiations with the Education Association, or patching up the “holes” created by the city avoiding cuts and layoffs, which caused some areas of the school budget to be stretched somewhat thin.
“Hopefully this will be enough to stitch those things together,” said Scott. “We have an understanding with the mayor… The mayor has no arguments about us making use of an additional $116,000, roughly.”
With this funding expected to lessen some of the strain on the school budget, Scott said she is “very optimistic” that the School Committee and Education Association will “reach an agreement early in the school year.”
As school officials await official confirmation of the funds from the city, City Council President Homar Gomez doesn’t anticipate any resistance from the council when it comes to allocating more money to the schools.
“The council will be open to anything to do with education,” he said. “Teachers need to get paid better and I know they are fighting for what’s best for them and their students.”
Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.