Allison McDonald: School Committee chair on negotiations with union
By Allison McDonald
As many are aware, we have been in talks with representatives from the APEA, the union that represents teachers, clerical staff, and paraeducators in the regional, Amherst and Pelham school districts, to extend their contract and negotiate wage and salary increases.
Our groups have met multiple times but have not been able to make progress toward an agreement, and the Regional School Committee made the decision on Thursday, July 1, to seek mediation. The APEA leadership has made several public statements about our negotiations, and we’ve received a large volume of email related to those statements, so I would like to respond and offer some broader context.