NTA EBulletin: March 23, 2025

NTA Survey Observations

#3: Breaks during the Day in Elementary School

The above graphs indicate whether elementary classroom, special education, and ELL teachers regularly receive lunch or bathroom breaks.

Over half of classroom teachers report not being provided adequate time for a bathroom break. Over half of special education teachers do not receive a lunch break every day.

UNUM Disability Insurance--Open Enrollment

UNUM insurance has a contract with MTA to provide disability insurance on very reasonable terms. Premium costs are deducted from your pay.

Short term disability insurance covers up to 60% of your pay after you have been disabled 14 or 30 days, depending on which coverage you choose. This insurance benefit is provided to you in addition to the regular pay you receive during paid sick leave. Benefits are granted for up to 22 or 24 weeks.

Long term disability insurance covers up to 60% of your pay as well, but not until you have been disabled for at least 180 days. This insurance benefit is also provided to you in addition to your regular pay. (Last year I misstated this. I said it was not in addition. It is.) The benefit lasts until your period of disability ends, or until you turn 65. If your disability requires you to retire early, UNUM will supplement your pension benefit up to 60% of your previous pay rate until you turn 65.

Please see the schedule below for building visits by UNUM Representatives. You can schedule a meeting for when a representative will be in your building in advance, or you simply drop in while they are there. If you need additional time to speak with your representative, you can also schedule a follow up phone call.

NTA Elections

Today, Sunday March 23, at 12:01 pm., you should have received an email from the NTA elections email address through this MailChimp account that provides instructions on how to vote in the election for the contested seat of second release officer.

Ryan Normandin, from Newton South High School, and Karen Tokos, from Newton North High School, are running to fill the position.

Polling is now open, and will close on Monday, March 24th (tomorrow) at 8:30 pm.

I urge you to vote!

NPS Budget

Two points I would like to note, briefly:

1. In the two School Committee Meetings held this week, Superintendent Anna Nolin and Chris Brezski took strong positions to defend funding for the schools, with the intention of warding off yet another round of harmful cuts. It is so refreshing to hear our superintendent and the chair of the Newton School Committee advocating and fighting for the schools our students deserve, and the working conditions our membership deserves. Thank you.

2. There are cuts contemplated even if Mayor Fuller does increase the allocation, primarily to the Teaching and Learning Department, and to METCO. The NTA does not believe either of these contemplated restructuring proposals make sense, or serve to eliminate redundancies, produce efficiencies, or improve services. The primary purpose they will serve is to produce savings through cuts to staffing levels. We are advocating against those cuts.

While the NTA disagrees with Dr. Nolin's recommended cuts to these departments, that does not diminish our respect for the unprecedented public advocacy work coming out of the Superintendent's office and from the Chair of the school committee.

It seems clear that the majority of members of the school committee do not, at this point, support Dr. Nolin's budget proposal nor her strategy for achieving her goals. But the advocacy for their support is not over, and I hope a majority of members can be swayed to stand behind Superintendent Nolin and Chair Brezski.

And what about the kindergarten aides?, you might ask. As you may be aware, the court appearance for the school committee's appeal has been postponed to late July. Members of the school committee, most forcefully Paul Levy, are advocating for Dr. Nolin to not only continue the cuts for aides again next year, and but also to provide no contingency fund in case the court's decision goes against the school committee. Superintendent Nolin and Assistant Superintendent Ayesha Farag have been very clear about how harmful it would be to the NPS's relations with the NTA to not reinstate kindergarten aides. This is an essential step in earning our trust in the wake of the damaging negotiations last year. They understand this.

MTA/NEA Events This Year

MTA Annual Meeting and NEA Representative Assembly

The MTA Annual Meeting is May 2-3 in Springfield, MA.This is where representatives from every local union in the state come together to set the budget and policy guidance for the upcoming year. We can send about 41 people to the meeting.
The NEA Representative Assembly is meeting in Portland, Oregon from July 2-6 to set the agenda at the national level for the 25-26 school year. We can send 13 individuals from NTA.

The NTA has many open slots to be either a MTA delegate to the Annual Meeting or an NEA delegate to the Representative Assembly.

Most of our delegate slots for both meetings remain open.

We will fill these slots on a first come, first served basis. Please send me an email indicating your desire to be a delegate, and I will register you. Note: to be an NEA delegate, you must also attend the MTA Annual Meeting. The NTA will reimburse your costs for travel, housing and meals.

MTA Licensure Workshop

The Center for Education Policy & Practice and Training & Professional Learning invite PreK-12 Educators to join Education Policy Specialist Beth Tripathi and Professional Development Strategist Dan Callahan for workshops on the licensure process for different career stages. Registration is open now for the Winter Virtual Licensure Workshops:

Mar. 26 – Professional License Renewal

All workshops will be at 7 PM. Members can register at https://massteacher.org/events-and-conferences/licensure-workshops.

In solidarity,

Mike Zilles, President

Newton Teachers Association