← School Committee · 2026-06-09 · School Committee Meeting
RETURN FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION
Agenda original PDF
Minutes original PDF
to Public Session. 1. To discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining with MEU Units A, B, and C, as an open discussion may have a detrimental effect on the negotiating position of the School Committee. 4. RETURN FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION School Committee Chair Seamus Kelley announced that during Executive Session, the School Committee unanimously approved three collective bargaining agreements ratified by the Melrose Education Union (MEU) earlier that day: a three-year contract for Unit A, a one-year contract for Unit B, and a three-year contract for Unit C. Chair Kelley credited the successful negotiations to the voters who passed the recent override funds. He noted that these sustainable contracts invest in educators through salary increases, paid holidays, and professional development, while also establishing paid parental leave for members with at least one year of service. Additionally, the agreements introduce frameworks for staff feedback on school safety and facilities. Chair Kelley concluded by thanking School Committee members Ms. Driscoll and Ms. Razi-Thomas, Superintendent Berman, Deputy Superintendent Ken Kelley, Attorney Lindquist, and the Union leadership for their collaborative efforts. 5. PUBLIC COMMENT No members of the public re
Transcript
▶ 9:53 Speaker 1: Mayor Grigoris? Yes. Mr. Hartman? Yes. Mr. Holleran? Yes. Ms. Holleran, I'm sorry. Me, yes. Ms. Leo? Yes. And Ms. Razzi-Thomas. Yes. Okay, that passes unanimously. We're going to go into executive session. We will return at the conclusion of executive session. So we will have to ask folks to leave the room. Thank you.
▶ 10:16 Speaker 1: Announce the results of the executive session. The school committee took three votes. The first vote was on the Unit A contract. That passed unanimously seven to nothing, and that is a three-year contract. The second vote was on the Unit B contract. That passed unanimously seven to zero. That's a one-year contract. We expect to commence negotiations with that unit in the fall to complete out the contract. The third vote was Unit C. That passed unanimously with seven to zero. Just want to give a little bit of a highlight around this. So earlier today, the Melrose Educators Union ratified the contracts. So now both the union and the school committee have done that. This is really a result, I think, of the voters who were able to get us Proposition 2.5 override funds last year that had made it possible to negotiate a good contract. Couple of the things that we believe it will do to invest in our educators by funding strategic and sustainable salary increases for all Melrose teachers and paraprofessionals. It supports our paraprofessionals by offering up new training and some paid holidays, prioritizes our families by establishing paid parental leave for all union members who have been employed in the district for at least one year, improves our learning environment by creating collaborative and responsive frameworks for school staff to provide feedback on facilities and school safety, and it fosters professional growth by creating robust opportunities for continuous professional development for both teachers and paraprofessionals. I would like to give a few thanks to fellow members of the school committee who were on the team, Ms. Driscoll and Ms. Razzi-Thomas. It was very good to work with you and to have your perspectivesFrom being on the committee for so long. I'd also like to say a special thanks to our superintendent, Ms. Berman. Without you, I don't think we could've landed this contract so easily. Also, thanks to Ms. Lindquist, our attorney, who was extremely helpful as we worked through our language, and Ken Kelley, our deputy superintendent, who helped us with much of the finances as well as the administration of the contract. And then also, thanks to our union, who were extremely helpful, dedicated to students. We would not have been able to also close this deal without their leadership, particularly the president and the vice president, who were very helpful in communicating their priorities to us. So, I just want to thank everybody. We now have a deal with our three units. In particular Unit A, which our teachers now have a three-year contract. So we will now move on to public comment. Is there anybody in the room who would like to address the committee?