Two current members of the school committee were contacted by Fall River Reporter to inquire about the progress of the teacher contract negotiations. The answers from Collin Dias and Kevin Aguiar are shown below.
1. I believe that a large number of Fall River families and locals are unaware of the teacher contract situation. Could you first explain the fundamentals? Do the teachers currently have no contracts in place? What is the duration of the most recent negotiations?
Aguiar: The contract with the teacher ended. According to the law, a contract remains in effect until a new one is agreed upon. Given that talks take time, this is standard procedure.
DiasThat’s right. Since the summer, workers covered by the FREA, FRAA, AFSCME, and a few others have been operating without an updated contract. Since last spring, negotiations have been going on. I do anticipate that we will be completely situated by the end of this month, though.
2. On December 20th, the Fall River Educators Association announced on its Facebook page that a provision of the contract had been tentatively agreed upon. Could you elaborate on the meaning of each section?
Aguiar: At our most recent meeting, Attorney Assad affirmed that, in my judgment, there was no provisional agreement. The FREA was incorrect in that reporting because the School Department’s bargaining team lacks the power to accept a tentative agreement.
DiasAlthough I am legally forbidden from discussing specifics of the negotiations, I do anticipate that the FREA negotiations will come to an end this month. I hope so. I think the post was alluding to the fact that significant advancements were made with Unit A, the largest FREA unit. To get an explanation for their Facebook post, I would advise contacting FREA.
3. In your opinion, what have been the main problems and obstacles in reaching a contract between the district and the teachers?
Aguiar: Money was the primary concern. Only pay raises that we can continue to support can be approved by the School Committee. Over the course of the three-year contract, the FREA sought an increase of more than 36%, which is unsustainable. Furthermore, in order to give our students the services they require, we have created a large number of support positions in recent years, which also needed to be maintained. The question is not how much our teachers should be paid, but rather how much we can afford to pay them while still upholding our fiduciary duty to the entire school system.
DiasAs a Fall River resident, I believe that previous labor agreements have not benefited the city’s regular employees. I would refer to them as team-friendly deals in sports parlance. As a result, Fall River teachers’ competitive compensation is now lower than that of the rest of the Commonwealth. Who is to blame for teachers’ desire for equitable treatment similar to that of colleagues in other districts?
Finding the money to support the contract has been the problem. I have not been given any guarantees that our five-year fiscal forecast will not reveal a deficit, and I think the district is rife with fraud and waste. We might be putting ourselves in danger of a structural deficit, and as a member, I will never cast a vote that permits that to occur.
I have suggested that the Fall River Public Schools Efficiency and Waste Reduction Advisory Committee be established for the meeting on Monday. Enhancing operational effectiveness and cutting unnecessary spending throughout the district would be the main goals of this group. If authorized, it would include representatives from the community, staff, and school committees. The group would assess procedures, look into ways to cut costs, and suggest long-term fixes. Its efforts would assist students’ access to high-quality education, improve economic responsibility, and maximize resource use.
To the citizens of our wonderful city, we owe a fiduciary duty. Without needless government red tape, we must make sure we can responsibly use public funds to fund our contracts.
4. What are the district’s overall teacher retention rates, and how do they stack up against those of comparable cities, like as Fall River? Do you believe that teachers are content with their jobs with the district?
AguiarAlthough I am unsure of the precise retention rates (the school administration would have this information), I think our district has excellent teachers who are seeking pay raises beyond what they are already receiving.
DiasI can obtain the report and come back to you, but I don’t currently have the figures in front of me. But from what I gather, the retention rates are poor. Teachers tell me that a major part of the problem is that many of them don’t feel supported and that Fall River isn’t competitive with other districts.
Although an amended contract is an excellent place to start, much more needs to be done. My objective is to continue visiting schools, collaborate with educators and FREA, and handle problems one at a time.
Dias did send district employees an email, and I was copied on it. A link to DESE data was supplied in the email, indicating that the state’s teacher retention rate is 85.8% and Fall River Public School’s is currently 75.8%.
5. In your opinion, has Attorney Bruce Assad contributed to the advancement of this process?
Aguiar: As the chief negotiator for the School Committee, Atty. Assad does follow the committee’s instructions, and he accurately represented us during the process. Although the majority decided against using collaborative bargaining during these negotiations, I, as one member, would have preferred to. Atty. Assad was instrumental in helping us reach the agreement that we voted on at the most recent meeting.
DiasAs a committee representative, Attorney Assad is expected to follow the committee’s instructions. In addition to him, we are expected to elect an entire bargaining committee. I won’t hold him responsible for the sluggish progress. I will, however, state that I will be in favor of switching to direct negotiating, in which members of the school committee engage in direct negotiations with labor unions, if I am on the committee for the upcoming bargaining session. This, in my opinion, would offer a lot more clarity.
The Fall River School Committee will reconvene at B.M.C. Durfee High School on Monday, January 13th at 5:30 PM.
