As an Amherst resident and Amherst Regional Public Schools parent, I attended the Amherst-Pelham Education Association forum on Feb. 2. I wish everyone in town could have been there.

I heard the stories of many educators. They are hurting. They are passionate, hard-working, talented and dedicated to our children. They are also frustrated, exhausted, disillusioned and angry. They want to speak to the School Committee in person to settle the contract — human to human, community member to community member — instead of the long, drawn out, virtual mediation process which leaves them feeling disconnected, disrespected and unheard. I urge the School Committee to consider face-to-face, in-person negotiations as APEA has requested.

Yes, we face very real fiscal challenges. Yet the APEA has significantly compromised their original proposal and the School Committee has compromised very little. With the state of the economy and inflation, offering a 2% or 2.5% cost of living raises is not even enough to hold a person steady. We can all agree that paraprofessionals, especially, are woefully underpaid and undervalued. We know that in the long run — and even in the short run — losing skilled people is more expensive than paying them a competitive salary.

I’m not claiming to have the answer. I do urge the School Committee, though, to come back to the bargaining table in person. And to scour all of the options to get closer to what the APEA is asking for in a contract, particularly for the paraprofessionals. This includes using their full influence and political capital to advocate with the member towns for additional funds, to search for creative solutions, and to push back against people who say the current offer is the best the School Committee can do. It is not.

When our educators see the School Committee going to bat for an expensive turf field and the town of Amherst surmounting so many obstacles for a new library, they see that when something is valued, people find a way to fund it. This town’s reputation and core values are built around a commitment to great public schools. Let’s recognize this in our commitment to the people who make our public schools great.

I urge everyone to let the School Committee know you support our educators: regionalschoolcommittee@arps.org and to sign the petition at http://actionnetwork.org/petitions/supportapeaeducators

Kathleen Traphagen

Amherst

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