The Boston Teachers Union held walk-ins at over a dozen schools in the city as contract negotiations drag on between the union and school district.
Before-school rallies were held at walk-ins at 15 schools in the city, putting pressure on the contract negotiations that have gone on for months, the union said in a news release.
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The Boston Teachers Unions is primarily seeking better pay for teachers and paraprofessionals, as well as staffing changes to better accommodate special education students as well as students who are learning English.
"We're seeking mainly an opportunity for our students with disabilities and multi-lingual learners, an opportunity to have services that they need in order to thrive in the classroom delivered by an additional teacher," BTU president Erik Berg said.
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Berg said that general education teachers are having to wear multiple hats in the classroom.
"They're not required to do this in other districts, so it has a two-fold effect," he said. "Number one, the students aren't getting the services they need to thrive and we have an inability to retain great educators."
The walk-ins come as COVID era emergency school funding expires, impacting school districts across the country. Nearly $200 billion came down from the federal government's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, a program that dates back to the early days of the pandemic.
"Those school psychologists, those school nurses, those extra staff, that increased school participation, increased scores four our students, increased quality of life for our teachers, all of those things in places across the country are getting cut today," Boston high school history teacher Dan Compitiello said.
Boston Public Schools was not available for comment.
