NTA eBulletin: February 1, 2026

Mike Zilles
16 minutes ago
4 min read

Question of the Week (new)

Answers to last week's question:

A lot of skepticism that we can negotiate a new contract before the current one expires.

This week's (light) question: (click on your answer below the question to register your vote.)

How many more snow days do you think we will have this school year?

NTA Quality of Life and Working Conditions Survey (new)

Last week I said I would share the survey with you in segments. I am shifting directions. You can find the entire survey, with all responses, by clicking here. This full survey contains the redacted feedback you provided in open responses.

I redacted anything in these questions that could identify an individual NTA member of any unit, school admin assistant or school custodian. Any information that identified principals or central administrators, I included. I apologize for any mistakes or oversights. I really hope there are none, but please let me know if I have inadvertently left un-redacted comments that made you identifiable.

Many members expressed a wish to learn more about how particular groups responded, for example, by Unit, by grade level, in some cases by building, by subgroups such as special educators, sub-separate program educators, classroom educators, specialists, ELL teachers, and more. We will try to honor these requests.

MTA Officer Candidate Forum: Hold the Date (Urgent)

What: Candidate Forum for MTA Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates

When: Wednesday, February 4, at 4:15 PM

Where: Bigelow Middle School Auditorium

This year at MTA annual meeting, delegates will vote for a new president and vice president of the MTA to two year terms.

This will be a very consequential vote for the determining the future direction of the MTA.

I urge members to attend the forum and to consider running to be a delegate to the MTA Annual Meeting, which will be held this year in Boston, at the Hynes Center, on Friday May 8 and Saturday, May 9. The Newton Teachers Association can send approximately 42 members to the meeting. It is important that we fill all of our seats. This is our opportunity as a local to weigh in on the current direction, priorities and policy decisions of the MTA.

There are three candidates running for President, and three running for Vice President, and they are running on slates:

Educators for a Democratic Union (EDU), a caucus within the MTA, has endorsed candidate Matt Bach, President of the Andover Educators Association and MTA Board member representing District 22F, for MTA President and Deb Gesualdo, President of the Malden Educators Association for MTA Vice President.
Deb McCarthy, the current MTA Vice President, is running for President on a slate with Dean Robinson, a professor at UMass Amherst, who is running for MTA Vice President.
John Sullivan, President of the Belmont Educators Association and current Executive Committee member for Region G (our region) is running for MTA President on a slate with Gayle Carvalho, President of the Quincy Educators Association and MTA Executive Committee member.

In addition, there will be elections to replace John Sullivan as Region G Executive Committee Member, and for the position of Director to the Board representing Region G, District 18. Jamie Rinaldi is the incumbent, and is running for another two year term; Gillian Van Delft, a Memorial-Spaulding Building Representative, and Alison Lobron are also candidates.

We invite you to submit questions for the candidates vying to represent you as MTA President and Vice President -- don't hold back!

Negotiations

Where we are now?

1. Our negotiations committee is up for elections this spring.

Election information, including nomination papers, will be delivered by email and posted in schools this week, February 5 and 6.
- Note: Along with nomination papers to be a member of the negotiations committee, nomination papers to be delegates to the MTA annual meeting and the NEA Representative Assembly will also be distributed.
Nomination papers are due in the NTA office on Friday February 27th, 2026.
If there are more candidates than slots, we will hold virtual elections on March 22nd and 23rd.

2. January, February: Develop and share negotiations priorities survey, and organize building based focus groups.

3. January, February: NTA reaches out to the School Committee to set our early negotiations meeting dates, with the hope that the Newton School Committee will join us in opening negotiations this spring. (Note: Contractually, neither party is obligated to begin negotiations until next fall.)

4. Present until first joint meeting with SC: Build our negotiations proposal. (Note: this is an ongoing and iterative process.)

Sharing the eBulletin with the Larger Community

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Please share this link with members of the community whom you think would appreciate receiving the eBulletin.

Labor Relations

Recording absences in ESS

Building administrators, including principals, assistant principals, department heads, and others, have been told that they must reject sick day requests unless employees use the drop down menu to list the reason for the absence. This puts these school leaders in an awkward position, where they have to be the enforcer who rejects your contractual paid absences.

That said, the information that HR is asking for is necessary. Being absent for a personal illness is different, contractually, from being absent to care for a family member. Here is how you record the "reason" for you absence when you or someone in your family is ill. Ignore the (optional) choice...it is not optional. Stating that is is seems to be a platform limitation.