Winthrop School Committee ratifies three-year union contracts covering 279 school employees

WINTHROP -- June 1, 2026, Winthrop School Committee ratifies three-year labor agreements with four employee unions covering nearly 280 district workers. The committee voted unanimously Monday to approve separate memoranda of understanding with the teachers, educational support personnel, secretaries, and nurses bargaining units, capping a multi-unit bargaining round for the fiscal years 2026 through 2028. The teacher agreement establishes a tiered raise structure ranging from 2 percent at step one to 3.5 percent at step eight, with all units receiving retroactive pay for the current year. New provisions across all four contracts include 10 days of fully paid parental leave, a $50-per-hour bilingual interpreter differential, and a 10 percent preschool tuition discount for employees. The committee also accepted retirements from 25-year educational support professional Deb Amaral and longtime Cummings School nurse Carol Benson, approving sick-day buybacks for both, and acknowledged the superintendent's appointment of Special Education Evaluation Team Chairperson Nate Amar as interim middle school principal. The only remaining unsettled unit is the approximately 12-member administrators group, which has been on a one-year contract pending resolution of the other four.