To the WPS Community:
After months of extensive good faith negotiations in which progress was made to improve working conditions, pay, and benefits for our educators, negotiators for the Wellesley School Committee notified the Wellesley Educators Association on December 7 of our intent to file for mediation. Although the parties have reached agreement on a significant number of items, we have been unable to make further progress on the remaining items. As such, we believe negotiations are at an impasse and are therefore moving forward to mediation, the next step in the bargaining process as laid out in state law. The decision to declare an impasse and petition the Department of Labor Relations for mediation was taken in an effort to keep the negotiations process moving forward.
We want to assure all members of our community that the Wellesley School Committee views mediation as an important step forward in an effort to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Since parties have not been able to reach agreement at the bargaining table, the best way to proceed is to mediate the unresolved items in good faith with the WEA and a neutral third party.
The Wellesley School Committee and District leaders would like to reiterate that we deeply value the steadfast and ongoing dedication of our teachers and staff. We know that they work every day to deliver an excellent education to all Wellesley students at all grade levels. We want to continue to assure the community that reaching an agreement that is fair and equitable to our educators and staff while working within the budget parameters set by the Town, Select Board, and Town Meeting is our top priority.
Given our shared goal of providing the best education possible to all students in our district, we have confidence that we can reach agreement with the WEA in a mutually supportive and respectful manner.
The Wellesley School Committee
Leda Eizenberg, Chair; Linda Chow, Vice Chair;
Craig E. Mack, Ed.D., Secretary; Melissa Martin, Member; Catherine Mirick, Member