North Andover School Committee Holds Most TA Contract Items, Books Four More Bargaining Sessions

NORTH ANDOVER — May 29, 2026 — North Andover School Committee holds most teaching assistant contract proposals, books fall bargaining sessions. At the May 29 collective bargaining session with the teaching assistant unit of the North Andover Teachers Association, district negotiators placed holds on virtually all financially significant proposals — including parental leave expansion from four to 12 weeks, a toileting stipend increase from roughly $1,200 to $4,000, a specialized program stipend increase from $1,800 to $6,000, and proposals for new vacation and holiday pay that would together total 30 additional days — stating they could not respond to individual items without seeing the union's full financial priorities. The lone formal tentative agreement reached was an evergreen clause preserving current wages and working conditions. The district also presented its own new proposals, chiefly a scheduling flexibility plan that would let building principals assign teaching assistants staggered start times within defined daily windows while keeping total hours unchanged — a change union members challenged with questions about substitute coverage, safety, and impact on students with intensive needs. Both sides acknowledged a contract before the end of the school year is not achievable; four additional sessions are now scheduled for June 8, August 24, September 16, and October 7.