By WHAV Staff |
File photograph. (Image licensed by Ingram Image.)
Haverhill’s education support professionals and the Haverhill School Committee are scheduled to try again today to resolve differences over proposed pay increases.
The ESPs, represented by the Haverhill Education Association, are calling for more progress toward earning, what they call, a “living wage.” Maureen Zuber, the ESP’s bargaining team chair, said the approximately 180 employees are asking for a 2% wage increase retroactive to the start of this school year and next, plus a $4,000 raise next year.
“Our proposal will accelerate our progress toward a living wage by bringing the starting salary for ESPs to $25,000 starting next school year,” Zuber said in a statement. “Haverhill’s ESPs have been undervalued and underpaid for long enough. It’s time for a market correction not just in Haverhill but across the country to make sure these educators and all school staff are compensated fairly for
By John Lee Grant |
School Committee member Scott W. Wood Jr. (Jay Saulnier file photograph for WHAV News.)
The Haverhill School Committee elected veteran member Scott W. Wood Jr. as its vice chairman during its annual reorganization Thursday.
Wood, who has served on the School Committee more than 17 years, was elected unanimously and succeeds Richard J. Rosa. Mayor James J. Fiorentini, who serves as chairman, congratulated Wood while commending Rosa for his service during a very challenging year.
“I’m very, very pleased that, for the first time in several years, our School Committee is united as we need to be in these times, and I look forward to working with you Scott. I really want to commend you attorney Richard Rosa. Thank you very much for a job well done,” the mayor said.
By John Lee Grant |
(File image.)
Haverhill school students will not be returning to their classrooms until after the middle of January.
The Haverhill School Committee met last night to reconsider its previous decision to have students return to a hybrid learning model on Jan. 4. Many parents and teachers protested that decision, saying returning to any form of in-person education so soon after the holidays would put students and staff at further risk of spreading COVID-19. Lauren Sanguedolce, a Haverhill school math teacher, expressed her opinion.
“Tonight, you need to make a very important decision using your brains and your hearts. You must vote to keep school buildings closed until it is safe. That means keeping all staff members and students home until further notice,” she said.
By WHAV Staff |
(File photograph.)
The public has opportunities to shape policy this week as various Haverhill boards meet. In the interest of transparency in government, WHAV provides this list of upcoming meetings every week.
Click image above for Haverhill School Committee agenda.
Haverhill School Committee members revisit the matter of in-person learning during a special meeting tomorrow night.
As of now the only agenda item is “Returning Students to the Classroom.” No matter what decision the Committee makes, if past choices are any indication, members have come under fire from different community segments.
School Committee members voted 5-2 Dec. 15 to have students in kindergarten through fifth grade and those identified as high needs to return to hybrid learning next Monday, Jan. 4. They also voted 6-1 to allow basketball and hockey with Mayor James J. Fiorentini as the only no vote. Since then, the Haverhill Education Association’s Action Team and Executive Board
Dec 20, 2020
HAVERHILL â The teachers union is lashing out at the School Committee s handling of issues related to the pandemic, saying many committee decisions leave students and staff at risk of being infected by COVID-19.
The union has taken a vote showing no confidence in the committee, which has allowed certain groups of students to remain in classrooms as the number of COVID-19 cases increases steadily in Haverhill.
The union s vote, detailed in a letter to the committee, also criticizes the school district s plan to allow elementary students back into classrooms immediately after the holiday break â at a time when health officials predict a surge in virus cases due to holiday gatherings.