Dear North Andover Community,
As we prepare to welcome students and staff back to school, the North Andover School Committee would like to provide our community with an update regarding collective bargaining with the North Andover Teachers Association Teaching Assistant Unit.
First and foremost, we want to be clear about something that can sometimes get lost during contract negotiations: our Teaching Assistants are valued members of the North Andover Public Schools community.
Every day, Teaching Assistants work alongside educators and specialists to support students academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally. They provide important support to students with a wide range of learning needs and are an integral part of our schools. The School Committee recognizes their contributions and is committed to negotiating a successor agreement that reflects the importance of their work while also meeting our responsibility to students, families, employees, and taxpayers.
The current collective bargaining agreement expires on August 31, 2026. While a successor agreement will not be ratified before the start of the school year, this does not mean negotiations have stopped or that our Teaching Assistants will be working without the protections of a collective bargaining agreement. Until a successor agreement is reached, the parties continue to operate under the terms and conditions of the existing agreement, as required by law.
Where Negotiations Stand
The School Committee and the Association began bargaining earlier this year. In an effort to provide transparency to employees and the community, the School Committee proposed conducting bargaining sessions publicly, and the Association agreed. Bargaining proposals, presentations, meeting materials, and recordings have been made available to the public throughout the process.
The August 24 bargaining session marked an important point in that process. Under the parties' agreed-upon ground rules, August 24 was the final opportunity for either bargaining team to introduce new proposals. Both parties' proposals are now on the table.
The work ahead is therefore clear: negotiating those proposals, identifying areas of agreement and compromise, and working toward a complete successor agreement.
Throughout the bargaining process, both parties have brought forward proposals addressing a range of issues important to Teaching Assistants and the District, including working conditions, scheduling, professional learning, safety, and other provisions of the collective bargaining agreement. With August 24 marking the final opportunity for either side to introduce new proposals, the full scope of issues to be negotiated is now before the bargaining teams. The work ahead is to thoughtfully negotiate those proposals and identify areas where agreement and compromise can be reached.
Our Efforts to Keep Bargaining Moving
The School Committee had hoped to make additional progress over the summer.
When the June 8 bargaining session was canceled, the District immediately offered 12 alternative bargaining dates in June, July, and August to maintain momentum and increase the likelihood of reaching an agreement before the beginning of school.
The Association informed the District that its bargaining team was unavailable on those dates, making August 24 the next bargaining session.
We share this information not to assign blame, but because we believe our community deserves an accurate understanding of the bargaining timeline and the efforts that have been made to move the process forward.
Moving Forward
Collective bargaining requires both parties to advocate for their priorities, listen carefully, make difficult decisions, and ultimately find common ground. The fact that an agreement is not complete by August 31 should not be interpreted as an indication that Teaching Assistants are not valued or that the bargaining process has failed.
It means there is more work to do.
The School Committee remains committed to doing that work respectfully, constructively, and in good faith. We are prepared to continue meeting and negotiating toward an agreement that recognizes the contributions of our Teaching Assistants, supports our students and schools, and is responsible and sustainable for the North Andover community.
Throughout these negotiations, we have made transparency a priority. We will continue to provide bargaining information and updates on the District's Collective Bargaining webpage so that community members can review proposals and information directly.
As our schools open for another year, we are grateful to all of the educators and staff members who make North Andover Public Schools a place where students can learn, grow, and succeed. Our Teaching Assistants are an important part of that work, and we look forward to welcoming them, along with all of our staff, back to our schools.
We remain committed to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement and to keeping our community informed as negotiations continue.
Sincerely,
Dave
David S. Brown, Chair
North Andover School Committee
