NTA eBulletin: May 17, 2026
- Mike Zilles
- 4 hours ago
- 10 min read
Question of the Week
Last week's question was quite involved: we shared extensive pro versus con information with you. Yet we had a good response rate, with 317 people responding to the question.
Another marker of member engagement with the eBulletin: two weeks, 146 people clicked on the link to the elementary schedule presentation; this week, 109 did, with
Please keep the engagement high as we close out the year over the next few weeks!
Last week's question: Do you believe that Newton should participate in the school choice program?
This week's question: Do you agree with the following statement: I believe that the Newton Public Schools has an severe absenteeism problem among staff?
Elementary Schedule Change for 2026-2027 School Year (revised)
The Newton Teachers Association negotiated with the School Committee on Monday and Thursday of last week (May 11 and 14) on the proposed new 2026-2027 elementary schedule. Negotiations were both collaborative and productive. On Thursday, we agreed at the end of the meeting that the next step was to begin writing a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) summarizing our agreements.
NTA members on the Elementary Negotiations Team:
Elizabeth Ross DelPorto, Angier
Tiffany Krieg, Bowen
Jayme Ellis, Burr
Amanda Pierangeli, Cabot
Brenna Green, Cabot
Amanda Napolione, Countryside
Lynn Penczar, Lincoln-Eliot
Jaclyn Flause, Ward
Ryan Normandin, NTA Office
Mike Zilles, NTA Office
Thank you to all members who completed the elementary schedule survey. We made an effort to address member concerns as best we could during negotiations. Below are some main themes from the survey, with a brief summary of how these were addressed in negotiations.
Please be aware that this is a highly curated list. You shared much more feedback on the pros and cons of this new schedule than I include here, and we negotiated and came to agreements on many of these issues. Moreover, I reiterate that we have not yet collected these agreements in an MOA, nor ratified that agreement.
Members identified that the chief strength of the new schedule is that it provides 225 minutes of consistent planning time for all Unit A educators. Many educators also were happy to see that all specials would be 45 minutes long, that there would be a prep block every day, and that all educators would have the same amount of prep time, allowing for more equity and consistency.
We agreed in bargaining that all elementary Unit A educators would have a minimum of 225 minutes of planning time per week. This will apply to special subject teachers, classroom teachers, special education teachers, related service providers, specialists. This will be a contractual, enforceable change to our contract.
A number of special subject teachers said they were glad that they would not have to work in multiple buildings next year. This too is by mutual agreement with the school committee.
This too we look to codify in the agreement.
The chief weakness of the new schedule noted in the survey schedule is that it cuts PEHW from two thirty minute periods per week to one forty-five minute period per week. This concern was communicated frequently by special subject teachers, but it was a common concern among all elementary educators, who are uneasy that students will lose one structured Physical Education class per week.
We agreed in bargaining that there will be only one forty-five minute PEHW class next year. However, the joint labor management elementary schedule committee will continue its work this spring and next fall. We agreed that the "charge" of the committee going forward for developing a final elementary schedule will include a close consideration of incorporating two PEHW classes...not a guarantee (which the NTA asked for in its proposal), but rather a shared aspiration.
There were also many concerns registered by special subject teachers about whether the new schedule was good for students and for staff--not just loss of PE class time, but also the loss of art time, the loss of digital learning specialist time and FTEs, the music schedule, and the need to adapt curriculum so suddenly, among others.
We did not address all of these concerns in bargaining. We did, however, reach some agreements. One example: We agreed to dedicate PD time for educators to prepare for the changes, both workshop time in the summer, and set aside time in the fall and throughout the school year.
Overall, the proposed new schedule was viewed favorably, not by an overwhelming sentiment of "Wow! This is amazing!," but rather by a recognition that, overall, the changes will benefit students and staff, but at the cost of a number of unfortunate tradeoffs.
I do want to note that the survey also unearthed a number of ongoing tensions in elementary schools among special subject teachers, classroom teachers, special education teachers. and specialists about workload; about "whose job is harder"; and over recognition of one's value within the school community. Yet, I also saw a deep solidarity and desire to support colleagues through a difficult change.
Overall, while NTA leadership has not yet completed negotiations, I came away heartened by the results, so far, of what we have accomplished.
Know Your Contract: Workers' Compensation Insurance
As you are probably aware, the City of Newton and the Newton Public Schools do not provide workers' compensation insurance for members of Units A - E. However, the NTA has won contract language that protects members in the event of an injury on the job.
These are your contractual protections:
If you are injured on the job, any days you must be absent due to the injury are covered through sick leave bank days, not personal sick leave days, for a period up to two and one half years. Any out-of-pocket medical expenses you incur are reimbursed by the NPS.
Your contractual benefits actually have advantages over workers' compensation insurance.
If you miss days due to your injury, workers' compensation insurance pays 60% of your salary; our contractual benefit pays 100%.
If you miss more than one month due to on-the-job injury, the time you are absent and receiving workers' compensation benefits does not count as creditable service towards your retirement. Time you are out under our contractual benefit do.
There are disadvantages too. The largest?
Members who work during the school year and then work in ESY are not covered during their employment in the summer.
This is a problem we have been trying to solve in "Labor Relations" meetings all year. To date, we have not reached a resolution.It appears now that the path to a fair resolution will be to negotiate this issue with the school committee when we begin negotiating a new contract. (FYI, members have raised concerns about this issue in a number of bargaining focus groups.)
To access your benefits, follow these steps:
1. File an incident report as soon after the accident as possible.
2. Download this letter and bring it with you when you visit your medical provider.
Your provider will assume that if you are injured on the job, your medical bills will be paid through workers' compensation insurance, making you ineligible to use your own health insurance. You submit this letter so that your medical provider will bill your personal health insurance.
3. If your injury causes you to miss work, follow up with an email to HRSupport@newton.k12.ma.us letting them know your were injured on the job, and asking them to use days from the sick leave bank to cover any days you are out of work
4. Save all receipts for any out-of-pocket medical expenses you incur due to your injury. Submit these to HRSupport@newton.k12.ma.us when your treatment has ended.
If you treatment extends beyond three months, at three months you may submit any medical bills you have for a partial reimbursement.
ESY Workers' Compensation Protections (revised)
Correction: Last week, when I posted this originally, I said the policy would also cover some of the injured employee's out of pocket medical expenses. This is not correct. The policy does not cover out-of-pocket medical expenses.
FYI, district administration shared with the NTA a proposed policy to protect members who are injured on the job if working in the ESY program.
The policy proposal would provide pay for anyone injured on the job for any time they lost while working at ESY. This would apply to employees are covered by the Unit C Collective Bargaining Agreement during the school year and those who only work for NPS for the ESY program.
While this is certainly a step forward, the policy is inadequate for the following reasons:
For one it is a policy, not part of the Unit C Collective Bargaining Unit, and, as such, is essentially unenforceable. The district reserves for itself the sole authority to administer the policy.
It does not cover those circumstances where a NPS school year employee has ongoing needs when the next school year opens in September: no coverage of further out-of-pocket medical expenses, no automatic access to the sick leave bank should the member need to remain out on leave.
The NTA believes that if you work in Newton during the school year and then work in ESY during the summer, you should have the same rights and benefits during the summer that you have during the school year. This is a bargaining goal.
That said, the need for the contractual protections of the contract in case of a summer injury on the job is necessary and should be honored for this coming summer and retroactively for last summer.
Sick Leave Bank Access Arbitration Ruling
On April 17, the NTA suffered a setback in an arbitration decision.
Short version: The arbitrator ruled that the Sick Leave Bank Committee can consider prior use of personal sick days and sick leave bank days when deciding whether to grant days from the sick leave bank. Nor is how the committee weighs past usage tethered to past practice, but is left to the discernment of the committee. And should the two members of the Sick Leave Bank Committee from the administration vote no, and the two members from the NTA vote yes, the application is denied.
Details: In the fall of 2024, The Sick Leave Bank Committee, comprising, at the time, Joany Santa and Liam Hurley for the administration and Mike Zilles and Chris Walsh for the NTA, denied a member access to the sick leave bank. In a 2-2 vote, with the two NTA members voting yes, and the two administrative members voting no, Joany Santa claimed that access to the sick leave bank was denied.
Our contract states that the decision by the Sick Leave Bank Committee cannot be appealed. However, the NTA grieved the the fact that administrative members of the committee did not follow the correct criteria when making their decisions.
The arbitrator ruled that the administrative members of the Sick Leave Bank Committee did introduce criteria not permissible under the contract (cost of a substitute, budgetary constraints of the district) and required that the Sick Leave Bank Committee meet again to reconsider its decision. But that is where the good news ends.
The arbitrator also ruled that members of the Sick Leave Bank Committee "may consider the employee’s prior use of all forms of sick leave available under the agreement, including prior grants from the sick leave bank itself."
The arbitrator also ruled that, in the absence of a majority, the application for sick leave days should be considered denied.
In other words, the arbitrator ruled that, if the administrative members of the Sick Leave Bank decide that a person's prior use of sick leave days is excessive, they can deny access to the sick leave bank unilaterally.
Each of us contributes one of our own sick leave bank days in each September to support members stricken by serious illness. At the end of every year, any days remaining in the sick leave bank are returned to the district. To my knowledge, we have never used up all the days in the sick leave bank; some days have been returned to the district every year.
The days in the sick leave bank are our days. However, this arbitrator denied the NTA of a full voice in determining how they are used, which could essentially change how the Sick Leave Bank Committee has operated since it was created in 1970.
UNUM Disability Insurance Open Enrollment Period
Open Enrollment dates: March 24, 2026 – May 22, 2026
In light of the sick leave bank decision summarized above, I have a heightened sense of urgency that members sign up for long-term disability insurance. In fact, the member who was the subject of the arbitration discussed above reached out to me and asked me to urge members to sign up for long term disability insurance. Without the insurance, the member told me, she would be destitute.
So during this open enrollment period, I urge you to consider long-term disability insurance through UNUM, a group policy offered by MTA Benefits.
To learn more, click here.
To speak with an UNUM representative, click here.
To enroll on line, click here.
GLP-1 Medications
The NTA has filed an unfair labor charge against the City of Newton and the Newton Public Schools for unilaterally dropping GLP-1 coverage for weight loss from our Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans.
The charge reads:
On or about February 23, 2026, the City of Newton announced in an email to all Newton Teacher Association (NTA) members who participate in the Blue Cross Blue Shield healthcare plans that, after August 1, 2026, the City would no longer cover GLP-1 medication for patients without diabetes in any of its health insurance plans. GLP-1 medications for weight loss had previously been covered under the health insurance plan as Tier 3 medications with a $55 co-pay. When the City announced this significant change to the existing health insurance policy, impacting the terms and conditions of NTA members and presented it as a fait accompli, it failed to give advance notice of a change to a mandatory subject of bargaining and ignored its duty to bargain on a proposed change in violation of Section 10(a)(5)of the law and, derivatively, Section 10(a)(1).
Negotiations Focus Groups
Our next cycle of contract negotiations is rapidly approaching!
Before the NTA’s negotiations team sits down with the school committee’s, we need to understand better the priorities of our members - what are we looking for in a fair compensation package? What do we want to see changed about our working conditions? Where can our leave policies be improved? Once we have the answers to these questions, we can craft a bargaining platform that will be the team’s north star as they navigate negotiations.
And that’s where you come in!
Over the next few weeks each building’s NTA building representatives and contract action team captains will be holding members-only focus groups to gather input.
Please make every effort to attend. While there will be a forthcoming bargaining survey, and our team will always seek member input, these focus groups are pivotal in creating our platform. They’re some of the best opportunities you’ll have to ensure that your voice is heard and incorporated into the foundation of our negotiations.
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.
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In solidarity,
Mike Zilles, President
Newton Teachers Association
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