Credit: Ainsley Jay

On Dec. 6, Wayland residents attended a special town meeting that discussed the allocation of town funds to the Wayland Teachers’ Association’s (WTA) contract. The town voted in favor of transferring funds to the teachers’ contracts.

On Wednesday, Dec. 6, a special town meeting was held in the Wayland High School auditorium. During the meeting, Wayland community members voted on whether town funds should be used to increase teacher and teacher assistants’ salaries to adjust for recent increases in inflation. Around 400 Wayland residents attended, and the Article ultimately passed 239-116. The town meeting was moderated by Wayland resident Miranda Jones.

Wayland community member and Wayland Teachers Association (WTA) member Ilana Wyner initiated the first motion, which stated in Paragraph A of Article 1 that Wayland would transfer $999,664 from FY2024 to the revised teachers’ contracts. Paragraph B requested that the town of Wayland should vote to transfer $194,460 from FY2024 to the Wayland Educational Secretaries Association (WESA).

“Failure to pass this action will send a clear message that the Wayland community does not support education or its educators,” Wyner said. “As a member of this community for many years, both as a resident and as an educator, [this lack of support] has not been my experience. I’m hopeful that your support will come through.”

The finance committee voted 4-1 against Article 1, which was the Article in favor of transferring funds to the WTA.The last time the salary tables for WTA members were adjusted was in 2019. In November 2017 and 2018, there were meetings held regarding transferring money to the teachers’ contracts.

“The WTA members believe that the current economic landscape is unique at this time, and waiting for the cost of living adjustment until May 2024 is not fair, and it’s economically burdensome for staff at this particular time,” Wyner said.

Wayland Select Board member Tom Fay opposed Wyner’s statement. According to Fay, the Select Board voted unanimously to oppose transferring funds from the town to the teachers’ contracts. Fay also acknowledged that the act of holding a special town meeting, like this one, costs $10,000.

“This isn’t about our support of teachers and staff, it is about a costly, time-consuming and inefficient process that is about sticking to an agreement,” Fay said. “The Select Board voted unanimously to post this article to select a board that supports collective bargaining. This process is important with meaningful negotiations that result in mutually agreed upon contracts that are important for both the town and its employees.”

Along with Fay, Wayland Resident George Bernand shared his discontent with the town meeting and the amount of money it was costing the town to hold this meeting.

“I’m very thankful for my Wayland education and for the last 50 years of trying to pursue excellence in both family and work life,” Bernand said. “Unfortunately, tonight I do not see the pursuit of excellence. The lack of planning and procedure has led to wasted money for a town meeting.”

Then, the Wayland School Committee voiced its support for the funds to be transferred from the town to the WESA and WTA contract.

“The School Committee requests to transfer funds from the salary reserve account to the school department budget to cover the cost of the FY2024 salary increases for the WTA and the WESA,” Wayland School Committee Chair Erin Gibbons said.

The town meeting began with public comment, where town members could voice their support or dissent for transferring the funds into the teachers’ contracts. Speakers were given two minutes to voice their opinions.

“Both our WESA and WTA staff need the cost-of-living adjustment sooner rather than later to keep up with inflation,” Loker Teaching Assistant Renee Henrich said. “Some of my fellow WESA members work the full school day, followed by the BASE after-school program, and then have additional jobs on top of that just to make ends meet. I can tell you, unequivocally, as a parent who chose Loker School, and now as a team member inside the school, that Wayland educators are extremely dedicated and supportive of your children every single day.”

Some other Wayland residents and officials also voiced their thoughts during public comment. Resident Steven Glowsky moved that the article be amended to delete paragraph A, which meant that $999,664 from the FY2024 budget would not be transferred to the WTA. Moderator Jones asked Wayland residents in attendance to vote on whether or not to amend Article A. However, this motion did not pass. Additionally, Select Board member Adam Gutzebal was against funds being transferred to the WTA, because the WTA and WESA negotiated for a Cost of Living adjustment (COLA) while other unions did not.

Wyner’s motions at the beginning of the special town meeting to accept the revision of Article 1 was later passed in the secret ballot vote. The secret ballot process followed a procedure in which the voters were given a ballot card to vote yes or no on transferring funds to the WTA and WESA. Towards the end of the town meeting, the voters dropped their ballot cards into the slip box. The Article passed 239-116, and the meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:30 p.m..