Salem Teacher Contract Proposal Includes Raises, Require Reductions: School Committee
SALEM, MA — A contract proposal that would raise most Salem educators’ pay by 14 percent over the next three years — but which the School Committee said will require “budgetary reductions in the future” — was presented to the Salem Teachers Union on Monday one month before the expiration of the current deal.
According to a School Committee statement released on Tuesday morning, the proposal would increase most teachers by 14 percent, and some by as many as 27 percent over three years, and includes an 11 percent pay increase for paraprofessionals and 8.5 percent for other support staff.
The School Committee also said that the contract would include making the school day consistent across the district — whereas now some schools run for 6 hours, 5 minutes per day, and others as long as 7 hours. That would, the School Committee negotiating team allowed, increase the time at school for some educators and eliminate extra pay for other teams who receive a differential for the current extended day.
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“The Committee is preparing a proposal that would address those specific individuals’ circumstances starting in September 2025, should we move toward a standardized schedule,” the Committee said.
The School Committee said that while it shares the union’s objective to make Salem educator pay competitive with those across the region, with the proposal shared on Monday “there would need to be budgetary reductions in the future.”
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“There is nothing more valuable to a students’ learning than having highly skilled educators in our schools,” the Committee said. “For this reason, while there will be financial challenges ahead to make this proposal possible, we also believe that it is critically important to increase compensation to attract and retain the most effective educators.”
The union said in a statement Monday night that the proposal received earlier in the day “would see many teachers receive either a negligible pay increase or work more hours.”
“The School Committee made a wage proposal for support staff that would fail to provide a living wage for most PSRP unit members,” the union said.
Wage increases, workload management and expanded paid family leave were the common themes during the 20 minutes of public comment at Monday’s School Committee meeting where many staffers wore T-shirts and held signs in solidarity.
According to the School Committee, under the proposal, the average wage of Salem teachers would rise from $77,716 to $90,677 by Fiscal Year 2027 and would bring Salem’s pay scale above that of more than half of fellow North Shore districts.
The School Committee said the proposal also extends paid family leave and increases planning time for educators, with the standardized school day providing more time for lunch and recess for students. Under the proposal, schools will all have day lengths between 6 hours, 45 minutes and 7 hours, 5 minutes.
The next negotiating meeting is set for Aug. 12.
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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