Woburn High School on Monday as students returned to class for the first time in a week. Photo: James Rojas/WBZNewsRadio
WOBURN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Woburn school children are back in class Monday after an unexpected week off: the Woburn Teachers Association and the city reached a contract deal on Sunday night after a seven-day teacher strike.
The Woburn Teachers Association (WTA) said in a statement Sunday evening that the new contract included most of their priorities. Education Support Professionals (or teacher's aides) will be getting a "significant" pay increase from their starting salary of $22,000 a year. Teachers will also be getting a wage bump and class sizes for grades 4 and 5 will be slightly smaller.
The union said Friday that Mayor Scott Galvin had insisted on the WTA paying the city back $250,000 for the cost of the strike. The teachers have reportedly agreed to pay that money back, but there was no public word on the reimbursement from either side.
WTA officials are facing fines of at least $85,000 by the Middlesex Superior Court for defying a court order to return to class on Thursday and Friday.
WBZ's James Rojas (@JamesRojasNews) has more:
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