GLOUCESTER , MASS. (WHDH) - Members of the Gloucester teachers union are still working to negotiate a new contract with the school committee and in an update Sunday night said they still have not come to an agreement on a proposed salary increase.
Speaking outside West Parish Elementary School, teachers union members said they’ve been working to address the issues that aren’t related to finances.
Union Co-President Rachel Rex said, “We have a lot of other items in our proposal package that don’t cost any money and we feel are of critical importance to our students, our schools, and our staff, so we thought it better to address those issues that don’t cost money before we get into that hard work of coming to an agreement on wages.”
Meanwhile, School Committee Chair Kathleen Clancy said, “I want to get across to them that we care deeply about them as vital pieces in providing education to our students, we care deeply about improving student learning … we hope they know that this is a process and it’s uncomfortable, I think, for all of us but this is where we’re at and when people are far apart you have to have a process to bring the closer together.”
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