After months of heated negotiations, Holyoke teachers met Thursday night to learn more about a tentative contract agreement made last week between their union and the Holyoke school committee.
Teachers must still vote on the contract, but it contains salary increases and an increase in the number of paid sick and personal days.
Nick Cream, president of the Holyoke Teachers Association (HTA) and a history teacher at Dean Technical High School, said the main objective in negotiations was to align the benefits and working conditions of schools in Holyoke with those of surrounding districts. The intent is to to keep good teachers from leaving.
"This has a profound impact on our students," Cream said, adding that teaching is a profession where it takes time to learn.
"No first year teacher is going to be the best teacher, right? You need two, three, four, five years to kind of get a hold on this thing called teaching," Cream said, adding that new teachers learn from veteran teachers.
Local governance
Holyoke schools were under state control for a decade until July 2025. The tentative contract agreement is the first made under local control, without explicit state oversight, though Cream said officials from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education were at the bargaining table, as part of the receivership exit agreement.
"We were told that we were back under local control and we had members of the school committee on the bargaining team, so that was actually a point of confusion," Cream said.
“As we are coming out of receivership, we're setting a precedent for what can make teachers stay within our district, can attract great teachers to our district, and keep people here for our students who are our number one priority,” said 7th grade teacher Katie Bowlick.
Is it a perfect contract? Bowlick asked aloud. Absolutely not, she said.
“I don't think there's a teacher across this nation who would say that they have the perfect working contract. But I do think that we have made excellent strides in what would keep teachers here in Holyoke and keep them wanting to come to work every single day,” Bowlick said.
The contract agreement is an important milestone said Interim Superintendent Anthony Soto and the tentative agreement reached May 6 with the HTA reflects months of discussion and compromise, aimed at reaching a fair agreement for Holyoke teachers while balancing the needs of students and the district’s financial position.
“It is a testament to the ambitious outcomes that can be achieved while working together under local governance,” Soto said.
Details of the contract
According to the Holyoke Public Schools, the teachers compensation structure provides salary increases for a teacher's time in the district, education, and professional licensure, in addition to other possible annual increases.
It also requires that teachers earn a rating of needs improvement or higher in their first three years or proficient or higher in year 4 and beyond.
The most recent district proposal includes more than a 20% aggregate salary increase, on average, over 3 years
The contract also reduces the total number of contractual work days from 188 to 186. It reduces contractual hours from the current schedule by 55 hours for middle school teachers, 70 for high school teachers, and 100 for elementary teachers (including a 15-minute reduction to the elementary student day).
In a change from previous years, 10 days of sick leave per year will be frontloaded annually on September 12 ; the expired contract required time to be accrued before using.
New teachers
The contract on the HPS website, is “highly competitive for teachers,” according to the district.
It offers a starting salary of $55,000 for a new teacher in Holyoke with a bachelor’s degree this year—rising to $56,650 next year.
Holyoke officials say this salary would lead the pack of nine nearby districts: Agawam, Chicopee, Easthampton, Ludlow, Northampton, South Hadley, Springfield, West Springfield, and Westfield.
The HTA will schedule an official vote – and the Holyoke School Committee must also vote in favor of providing retroactive pay back to July 1, 2025.
