SAUGUS — The union representing clerical workers in the town’s schools finalized a new collective bargaining agreement with the School Committee, which was ratified last week.
Details of the new agreement — including its duration — were not immediately available, but a previous agreement between the union and the schools spanned three years. The clerical union represents the clerks in the district.
The School Committee voted unanimously to approve the new CBA during its meeting Thursday evening, after adjourning to executive session for roughly 10 minutes for “the purpose of discussing and ratifying the memorandum of understanding between the Saugus Clerical Union and the Saugus School Committee.”
School Committee Chairman Vincent Serino thanked those who handled the negotiations, including Committee Vice Chairman John Hatch, Committee member Ryan Fisher, Deputy Superintendent Margo Ferrick, and Executive Director of Finance and Administration Pola Andrews.
“We appreciate the position you’re in to get the clerks what they need, and keeping it within the parameters and the guardrails that we have as far as budget,” Serino said. “I want to thank you guys for myself, but I think for the rest of the committee too, for the time that’s put into this.”
School Committee member Dennis Gould called the clerks an “integral part of our team.”
“I’m glad that the contract worked out and I think it was a good one for them,” Gould said.
Clerks typically serve as school receptionists. Their responsibilities include greeting parents, students, and other guests; handling calls; and maintaining files and records in the school.
In Saugus, clerks work across the town’s three school buildings — at the Veterans Early Learning Center, the Belmonte STEAM Academy, and the Middle/High School.