The Boston Teachers Union attempted to drum up public support for a new contract Thursday, calling for fair wages and a host of other proposals at a highly-publicized press conference, moments before beginning its first negotiations with the School Committee.
The talks kicked off as Boston Public Schools prepares to slash hundreds of positions and close dozens of classrooms in an effort to balance next year’s budget. It is the toughest budget season confronting BPS in years, even as annual spending is expected to exceed $1.5 billion next year, and those financial constraints could influence the talks.
CasSandra Samuel, a paraprofessional at the Curley K-8 Lower School in Jamaica Plain, made a personal appeal for the union’s proposal for all BPS schools to have a librarian, a library paraprofessional, and $20 per pupil to fund and maintain libraries. She also called for increased wages for paraprofessionals, who she said are the “backbones” of schools.
”How can we create a standup community around our school if we can’t even afford to live in this community?” Samuel said, adding that some paraprofessionals have second and third jobs to make ends meet.
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