The Romney/Healey Finance Control Board wants to impose a contract on the Springfield Education Association that will lead to additional loss of Highly Qualified, licensed teachers from Springfield and will experiment on the children in the Springfield Public Schools, using the system to measure student growth that has yet to be independently verified as valid.

It’s time for an independent neutral party to settle this issue.  Call your state elected officials and tell them to support binding arbitration.

 

 

I’m Abe Phelps.  I teach physics at Central High School.  I don’t do it for the money—nobody gets into teaching for the money. 

I do it because I want to work with kids in Springfield.  It’s a great diverse community. Having worked four years without a contract, I have stayed -only because of them.

The control board thinks imposing their contract will attract science teachers like me.  If they impose their contract, I may have to leave. 

Please call your legislators and tell them that you want binding arbitration for the teachers.  This is a good city.  I want to stay.

 

 

My name is Sara Palmer, a Springfield home owner and a 5th grade teacher at Gerena School.  I chose to live and teach in Springfield.

The Control Board says I am one of those young, dedicated teachers their contract proposal will attract and keep in Springfield.  However, I’m leaving because they’ll still pay me less with their proposals than I’d make anywhere else.

I have to choose between my students and paying my bills.

Call your reps and senators.  Ask them to support binding arbitration for Springfield teachers.

Springfield is a wonderful, racially diverse community.  All of our children deserve a great education.  But, we are losing our experienced and dedicated teachers.

Unfortunately, the unelected Control Board is doing great harm to our schools.

I am Marguerite Foster Franklin, a teacher and homeowner in Springfield.   I am also a parent of students in the Springfield public schools and I want constructive action.

Please call your reps and senators and tell them Springfield teachers need Binding Arbitration for a fair and equitable Contract.

 

I moved to Springfield three years ago, just out of college, because I wanted to be a Springfield teacher.  My name is Kristi Favaloro, and I teach at the Beal School.

I am committed to our city’s children, but if the Finance Control Board’s contract is imposed, my salary will be capped, my working conditions will deteriorate, and I will be forced to look for work elsewhere.

Please call your state representative and senator today and tell them that Springfield teachers deserve better.

Springfield teachers deserve binding arbitration to settle a fair contract.

 

In the last 8 months, Springfield has lost nearly 200 teachers to surrounding school districts. This is because the Control Board hasn’t honored our contract. Their new proposal will make things worse – we will lose hundreds more teachers.

This is frightening. The Control Board doesn’t get this…or, worse, they don’t seem to care about what this will do to our schools and the children.

I grew up in Springfield. I always wanted to be a teacher in Springfield.

SEA cares about the children of Springfield. Our proposals can make this a great school system, again.

We need your support. I teach at Warner school. I’m Jen Stogner.

 

 

I’m Arcadio Gonzalez, a counselor at Duggan Middle School.

We are trying to do great things, at Duggan, so that every child in Springfield has the opportunity to fulfill his or her potential. But, our best intentions will be undermined if we continue to lose outstanding teachers, counselors and other professionals.

Our kids will lose.

We have hung on, doing our best, hoping the Control Board would understand what is happening. They don’t seem to get it.

The SEA needs your support. For our kids. For their future.