Framingham School Committee, Teachers Association Agree on Three-Year Contracts

FRAMINGHAM - The Framingham School Committee approved a three-year contract for members of the Framingham Teachers Association (FTA) during the committee’s meeting on Wednesday, June 5.

The deals for Framingham’s teachers and educational staff members were approved by an 8-0 vote by the School Committee, with District 7’s Tiffanie Maskell having to be recused from the vote. Mayor Charlie Sisitsky also voiced his approval of the agreements on Wednesday.

The contracts with the FTA’s Unit A (which features workers like classroom and special education teachers along with counselors, nurses, coaches, and librarians) Unit S (which is comprised of “all twelve month, ten month, and regular part time clerical employees”), and Unit T (which is made up of educational assistants and aides) will run through the end of the 2026-27 school year.

Reading from a statement during Wednesday’s meeting at the Memorial Building, School Committee Chair Jessica Barnhill of District 8 thanked the FTA for their cooperation during the negotiation process.

“This is the first time in decades when collective bargaining agreements have been negotiated so far in advance of their end date,” Barnhill said.

“We feel this is a testament to the trust and collaboration among our staff and our administrators.”

Notable inclusions of the FTA-ratified contracts include cost of living salary adjustments for teachers over the next three school years. Unit A employees will get a 2% raise for the 2024-25 school year, along with a 3% bump in 2025-26 and an increase of 3.5% for 2026-27. Teachers with longer tenure periods could potentially receive larger increases at those times, while Unit S and Unit T employees will see similar salary increases on an annual basis during the life of the contracts.

District 4 School Committee member Adam Freudberg said on Wednesday that a total of 13 negotiation sessions were held with the FTA since last November in order to reach an agreement. He explained that those meetings were productive towards meeting a goal shared by all parties.

“My own personal goal,” Freudberg continued, “that I know was echoed by so many here, was to make it clear to the Unit A educators that we appreciate them, wish to support their work, and retain them in the city of Framingham’s workforce for the years to come.”

This agreement comes after members of the FTA gathered in front of the Memorial Building back in April to ensure that Framingham Public Schools would be fully funded in the 2025 fiscal year budget. Sisitsky eventually proposed a $172.6 million budge which was accepted by the City Council as part of the larger $358.8 operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year. State aid via Section 70 to the FY25 school budget in Framingham only rose by roughly $943,000—to around $86 million—compared to the FY24 school budget.