NTA eBulletin: March 8, 2026
- Mike Zilles
- 20 hours ago
- 8 min read
Question of the Week (new)
Question from March 1:
The Trump administration's decision to attack Iran along with Israel was a smart strategic move.
Last week's question was controversial. I heard from a few members that they were worried that the NTA was planning to issue a statement or resolution on the war against Iran. Others expressed concern that by asking the question, the NTA was assuming a democratic, liberal, progressive, or leftist member bias.
We have no plans to issue a statement or resolution on this issue. To the extent I assumed a left of center bias, I also assumed there would be a significant minority of NTA members who would have differing perspective on the attack on Iran, whatever their political leanings.
I asked the question primarily because members who completed the NTA Working Conditions Survey said that one of their major sources of stress this year has been the political climate. So the question was meant to elicit specifics about one particular issue.
This is an issue that could be divisive. I realize that by asking the question without providing context, I could have contributed to this divisiveness. I apologize.
A large majority of members do not think the Trump administration's engagement with Iran was a smart strategic move. Nonetheless, a significant minority of members do think it was a smart strategic move. I hope our NTA umbrella is large enough so that all members can feel respected, even though their political views may differ.
This week, a much less controversial subject:
When do you think the snow will be melted, so that our lawns, sidewalks and streets will be clear? (Not the huge piles in parking lots.)
Reporting Absences in ESS Revisited (new)
In many buildings, members are receiving this reminder, or one similarly worded:I
n addition to logging your absence on ESS, staff members are expected to email their supervisor or supporting administrator to communicate the absence. This is especially important for same-day absence notifications as administrators may not check ESS once preparations for the day have commenced. Please also follow any building specific time off reporting procedures.
If sending an email to your supervisor was the practice in your building or department before this academic year, you should indeed email your supervisor. If this was not the practice--if in the past you simply recorded your absence in Frontline, then that is all the district can require you to do.
Why are you being asked to send an email to your supervisor? Frontline had a functionality that ESS does not: the ability to automatically send an absence report directly to supervisors at a set time of day.
I AM NOT telling you that you shouldn't send an email. I am saying the district may be requiring members to take on an additional responsibility because of a decision it made. This change has also created additional work for NESA members, Unit B members, and principals.
I AM telling you that you have a choice. It is perfectly legitimate if you weigh the impact of your choice on your colleagues.
Mass Child Grant
The Massachusetts Child is a reimbursement program available to all MTA preK-12 local associations. Members use funds from their local associations to purchase qualifying items for students, and Mass Child reimburses the local associations. Qualifying items include everyday essentials, items that assist the physical, mental and emotional health of students experiencing financial need, and books.
Please note that Mass Child does not reimburse individual members; all grant applications must have the approval of the local president, and reimbursement is made to the local association. The NTA reimburses you. Therefore, please do not fill out the online application on the Mass Child website.
Our local process for use of Mass Child Grant funds:
Contact Cindy Colantonio at (office@newteach.org) before purchasing items to be certain that NTA still has Mass Child Grant Funds available and that the items you will be purchasing will qualify for reimbursement.
Once you have approval, purchase the items and submit your receipts to Cindy (You can do this electronically via email or by sending them through the Pony).
NTA will reimburse you directly right away. We will handle the submission to Mass Child for local reimbursement.
NTA Office Relocation
The Newton Teachers Association Office has moved. We are now located at 29 Crafts Street, Suite 470. Our new office is handicapped accessible. We invite you to stop in and see our -- your -- relocated NTA office.
Background: The NTA had been at 46 Austin Street since at least 2008 (correction from last week); in 2022, we moved from our 3rd floor office to the 2nd floor. Last fall, our landlord, the Russian School of Math, informed us that they would be terminating our lease and that we had to move out by January 1, 2026 so that they could begin renovations. We negotiated a settlement with them for breaking our lease that allowed us to remain until February 15, with two months of free rent.
For our new location on Crafts Street, we negotiated a 10 year lease with a landlord that has a reputation for reliability.
Blue Cross Blue Shield GLP-1 Coverage (updated)
NPS employees who participate in a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) health insurance plan through Newton received a letter last week from the City of Newton Department of Human Resources and the Newton Public Schools Department of Human Resources informing them that BCBSMA would no longer be covering GLP-1 medications for weight loss effective July 1, 2026.
The letter says that BCBSMA "has made the decision to end coverage for GLP-1 medications."
FYI: the NTA was not informed in advance of this change.
Last year I learned that there could be a change coming. The BCBSMA Labor Liason informed me that had changed its policy of requiring employers to provide had changed, and the BCBSMA insurance would allow employers to offer plans that did not provide GLP-1 coverage. My understanding then was that this was an option that was at the discretion of the employer. So I was caught off guard when I received this letter myself, in my capacity as a plan participant, not as president of the NTA.
I will reach out to our Labor Liason to get further information, and I will let members know what I learn.
I have since followed up with our MTA Field Representative and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Labor Liason. Blue Cross did not require Newton to make this change; it gave city officials permission to do so.The City and NPS made the decision to exclude GLP-1 medications from coverage.
Could this change the decision? The city and school district have agency to continue to offer coverage of GLP-1 medications. Whether they would, I am not sure. Whether we could persuade them, I am not sure. Whether there could be an alternative path, I am not sure.
I am currently investigating two paths:
(1) No Change. By keeping GLP-1 medications in the Blue Cross Blue Shield "formulary," they would still be covered by insurance. This is how GLP-1 medications are covered now. They are, however, a significant driver of insurance premium increases.
(1) Health Savings Accounts (HSA). The pharmaceutical companies charge about twice as much to insurance companies for GLP-1 medications than they charge to individual patients who purchase them at their pharmacies. Another potential path is to create Health Savings Accounts that allow members to save from their before tax income to be used for medical purposes (sort of like a 403b for medical expenses). These could include contributions from the City of Newton and/or the Newton Public Schools.
I am also reaching out to leaders from municipal unions to coordinate with them. They may have other suggestions/ideas/opinions.
To be continued....
NPS Budget Season Begins (new)
What: Special SC Meeting - Budget Retreat rm 304
When: 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Where: RM304T
he Newton School Committee will hold it's first budget meeting for the FY27 budget tomorrow evening in a "budget retreat." The meeting will be open to the public. It will not, however, be broadcast to the public via NewTV. To see it, you must attend in person.
MTA Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidates Forum (revised)
On Wednesday, February 4, the Newton Teachers Association hosted a forum for the candidates for MTA President and Vice President. Five of the six candidates were able to attend. We recorded the session to share with our members. Dean Robinson was unable to attend the forum, but he has posted video replies to our questions, which we have edited into the video of the forum. Here is the video.
NTA Quality of Life and Working Conditions Survey
NTA Quality of Life and Working Conditions Survey results can be found by clicking here. These full survey results contain the redacted feedback you provided in open responses.
NTA Quality of Life and Working Conditions Survey results disaggregated into elementary/preschool, middle school, and high school. (I combined NECP with elementary because it would be too easy to identify individual NECP members if the preschool were disaggregated.)
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
Workers Compensation and Work Outside the Regular School Year
On opening day, I recounted to members the story of an Extended School Year (ESY) Behavior Therapist who was injured on the job and received no workers' compensation benefits for her injury.
As most of you now know, the City of Newton opted out of providing workers' compensation insurance to its educational employees decades ago, taking advantage of a loophole in the law.
Because of this, in 2019 the NTA negotiated contractual provisions to protect members who suffer on the job injuries:
Employees injured on the job have access to the sick leave bank to cover 100% of the costs of any time spent out of work because of the injury, up to a maximum of 3 years (the remainder of the school year when the injury happened plus 2 more full years).
Employees have their out-of-pocket medical expenses covered by the district.
I have been working with Anna Nolin to rectify the gap in summer coverage by ensuring that the contractual provisions for on the job injuries we negotiated in 2019 are extended to cover NPS ESY employees . It seemed, in October, that we would easily reach an agreement. But no.
To date, we have not, and unless we reach an agreement immediately: (1) The employee injured in the summer of 2025 will not be compensated and (2) current NPS employees will not be protected if they are injured on the job during the summer (or, for that matter, for anything they do outside the regular school day, including coaching sports.)
This is not hard to fix: we simply need to agree to a provision in the Units A, B, and C contracts that extend their contractual protections for on the job injuries to work done outside of the regular school year or day.
The unwillingness to resolve this problem highlights why we all need the NTA. Without our advocacy, the district historically has done as little as possible to protect and provide for its employees. The failure to provide workers compensation protections to summer employees not covered by the contract is but one example. Here are some others. Note that this list is not comprehensive:
Summer pay is significantly less than contractual rates during the school year (except for BTs who worked during the school year as well.)
Long term substitutes who work 21 to 89 days have been paid approximately $175 per day since at least 2010, probably longer. That amounts to a 1/3 reduction in their actual, inflation adjusted pay rate over 15 years.
Outsourcing NPS bargaining unit work. First, cafeteria workers; then the attempt to outsource custodial work; currently, Unit D substitute and unit C work.
The NTA will not abandon this struggle to protect our members from on the job injury losses, even if we are not able to win the battle until we enter negotiations.
In solidarity,
Mike Zilles, President
NewtonTeachers Association
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