By Joe Stewart

Contract negotiations between the Wrentham School Committee and the Wrentham Educators’ Association (WEA) have reached an impasse, pushing talks into state-assisted mediation. The stalemate centers on long-term pay increases for paraprofessionals and injury leave provisions, even as both sides acknowledge progress on other issues like paid parental leave.

The dispute in Wrentham reflects broader statewide tensions over educator pay and benefits, as teacher unions point to a record-high national pay gap and advocate for a greater share of new state education funding.

School Committee: A Fair Offer

According to the June 17 School Committee meeting minutes, the committee offered a comprehensive proposal that includes a 7.5% total cost-of-living increase for teachers over three years and a 22.5% total increase for paraprofessionals. The offer also includes five weeks of paid parental leave for both units, starting in the contract’s second year.

In an interview, School Committee Chair Phil Jordan stated that the committee’s focus has been on addressing the pay for paraprofessionals, which he said is “at or near the bottom in comparison with nearby districts.” He explained that the proposed 15% first-year increase for paraprofessionals would move their pay “from the bottom to the middle” among comparable districts.

Jordan attributed budget constraints to the structure of municipal finance, citing the limits of Proposition 2½. He also noted that state funding, known as Chapter 70, has lagged behind inflation for decades, creating a “cumulative gap in funding,” despite recent increases from the Student Opportunity Act (SOA).  

The SOA is a landmark Massachusetts law passed in 2019 with the primary purpose of overhauling the state’s K-12 education funding formula. The law was designed to address chronic underfunding identified in a 2015 state commission report, which found the existing formula failed to adequately cover the costs of healthcare for employees and retirees, Special Education (SPED), educating English Learners (ELs), and educating students from low-income families. 

For this year, Jordan said the school committee committed about 95% of the town’s increased education spending to address the salary gaps, calling the offer “fair, generous even, given the municipal budget.”

Educators: Seeking
Long-Term Parity and Injury Pay

Members of the WEA negotiating team confirmed in an interview that an impasse has been reached after compromises on other topics. The remaining unresolved issues are pay for the second and third years of the contract and paid leave for work-related injuries.

The WEA provided a contract survey showing that Wrentham paraprofessionals’ current pay rates are among the lowest in a 19-district comparison. While the educators “appreciate” the school committee’s first-year offer, they are “insisting on improvements to the second and third years.” Their proposed pay scale would result in a roughly $4 per hour higher rate than the school committee’s offer after three years. According to the WEA’s analysis, this would increase district costs over the contract’s lifespan by $406,022 beyond the school committee’s proposal.

Regarding injuries, the WEA notes that employees must currently use their own sick time for injuries sustained at work, such as “bites and scratches and bruises,” during a five-day waiting period before workers’ compensation begins. They are seeking to have this time paid separately.

The core of the problem lies in the structure of workers’ compensation. There is a standard five-day “waiting period” before wage replacement benefits begin. In practice, this means that if a paraprofessional is injured and needs to leave work to visit the doctor, get a tetanus shot, or get x-rays, that time off is initially unpaid. To be compensated, the employee must use their accrued sick time. 

The WEA’s position is that time off for a documented, work-related injury should be paid by the district separately from an employee’s personal sick leave, arguing that staff should not have to deplete their own benefit time for injuries sustained in the course of their duties.

A Statewide Perspective: Record Pay Gaps and New Funding

The issues in Wrentham are part of a larger pattern across Massachusetts, according to an interview with Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) President Max Page. He cited a report from The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) which found that the “teacher pay penalty,” the gap between public school teachers’ wages and those of other college graduates, hit a record high in 2024. For Massachusetts, the report states the wage gap is 22.5%.

“Over the past three decades, stagnant weekly wages of public-school teachers have fallen further and further behind those of college graduates who chose other careers, resulting in an ever increasing teacher pay gap that hit a record high in 2024.”

Page also pointed to the Fair Share Amendment, or “Millionaires Tax,” as a significant new source of state education funding. He shared that revenue from the tax far exceeded expectations.

The “Millionaires Tax,” is a voter-approved amendment to the Massachusetts Constitution that took effect in January 2023. Its purpose is to generate new state revenue specifically dedicated to public education and transportation.  The amendment imposes an additional 4% state income tax on a person’s annual taxable income that exceeds $1 million - importantly, the $1 million threshold is adjusted annually for cost-of-living increases, preventing “bracket creep” where inflation could push earners into the tax bracket over time.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the state collected approximately $1.8 billion in Fair Share revenue in its first full fiscal year (FY 2024), which ended June 30, 2024. This far surpassed the initial budgeted estimate of $1 billion.  And for the current fiscal year (FY 2025), the Massachusetts State Legislature and the Healey-Driscoll Administration have budgeted a $244.5 million increase in per-pupil foundation budgets for school districts, and $170 million to reimburse school districts for providing free breakfast and lunch to all students.

With a state mediator yet to be assigned, both parties expect the process to take substantial time, potentially lasting through the end of the year.