By Adam Swift
The school committee approved a new three-year contract with the district’s custodial union at its meeting on Monday night.
The contract calls for a 3 percent raise per year through the 2027-28 school year, as well as additional longevity incentives for the school custodians.
The contract also sets a rate for overtime, according to Superintendent of Schools Lisa Howard.
“We hadn’t done that in the past, just to make it clear, it’s good practice to have that in writing,” said Howard.
The new contract also stipulates that temporary substitute custodians will receive pay equal to the first step on the salary scale.
“That’s for clarity purposes so that every time we have a sub, they will know what rate they make,” Howard said.
The superintendent said the contract adds in several steps for longevity and increased a couple of the sections for $100 for FYs 26, 27, and 28 for both the junior and senior custodians.
In addition to the yearly wage increases, Howard said the contract calls for a one-time market increase for eligible senior custodians for the 25-26 school year, as well as a market increase for custodians who have been with the district for 10-13 years and those who have been with the district for more than 14 years. There will also be an additional annual stipend for senior custodians who are heavy equipment operators.
“It was a pleasure to work with the union, it was a pleasure to work with the subcommittee of the school committee, as well as the school committee,” Howard said. “I appreciate the discussions we had in your questioning in each one of these items to make sure that everyone on the committee understood where we were at and where we were going and how that impacts this current school year’s budget.”
The custodial bargaining unit is one of seven unions the school district is working on settling contracts with this year, Howard said.
School Committee Chair Jennifer Powell said she appreciated the focus of the contracts on longevity benefits for the custodians.
“It’s invaluable, because there are only three senior custodians in a district with 2,000 students and four physical buildings,” Howard said. “They take pride in those buildings, there are things in their heads that we need to keep digging out before they do retire at some point. I do think it shows the gratitude for the work that they do and the commitment they have to those buildings.”
Town Council President Jim Letterie said it is important to note that after the residents of the town approved a school override earlier this year to show that the town and the schools are listening to what they find important.
“We have to do what’s right for the school system, and this contract keeps that in line,” said Letterie.