EASTHAMPTON – The union representing teachers and other educators in the Easthampton School District is lobbying school administrators to include unexpected state school subsidies this fiscal year in a new contract currently being negotiated.

The additional funds will be provided in the form of state aid under the Chapter 70 Act, which will generate approximately $117,000 more than the revenues expected to be generated through the Fair Share Act.

At a city council meeting on Aug. 7, Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle told council members that the unexpected Chapter 70 money would be allocated to schools and that decisions on how to spend it would be overseen by Interim Superintendent Maureen Binienda and Director of Business Services Nicholas Bernier.

When asked by the Gazette, Binienda declined to comment on how the money would be distributed and referred questions to LaChapelle, who could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, the Easthampton Education Association said additional funding for the school could pave a clearer path toward a regulated contract between the association and the school board.

“We make significantly less than most experienced teachers in our community,” said Margaret Betts, vice president of the Easthampton Education Association. “While we are not yet where we want to be with these pay gaps, with this additional funding we can close those negotiating gaps and still have … thousands of dollars left over.”

Betts praised the city for “its responsible distribution of money in the community,” which has resulted in no program cuts or staff reductions this fiscal year. In contrast, surrounding school districts have struggled to cope with the lack of pandemic-related funding this school year.

But she stressed that retaining and attracting high-quality staff is a top priority for Easthampton schools, which she said requires more competitive salaries and benefits. In particular, Betts said, the Education Association hopes to see better compensation for support staff and other employees, such as those in janitorial and administrative positions.

“The most important workforce in a school district is the support staff. They make the special education programs successful,” she said. “Their earning potential is much lower than that of the average hourly worker.”

This is because temporary workers are only paid for the approximately 82 days they work and are not entitled to overtime pay, Betts said.

With this additional funding, it may be easier to get a contract with the school board. Betts said she hopes the contract will be finalized before the school year begins, or at least within the first few weeks of it starting.

Laura Scott, chair of the Easthampton School Committee, also has high hopes for this unexpected funding, but points out that the new money is “not a huge increase.”

Scott said the committee wants to use the money either to complete contract negotiations with the education association or to plug the “holes” left by the city avoiding cuts and layoffs that have created quite a stretch in some areas of the school budget.

“Hopefully that’s enough to patch these things together,” Scott said. “We have an agreement with the mayor … The mayor has no objection to us using another $116,000 or so.”

This funding is intended to ease some of the burden on the school budget. Scott said she is “very optimistic” that the school committee and the education association “will reach an agreement by the beginning of the school year.”

While school officials await official confirmation of the funds from the city, City Council President Homar Gomez does not anticipate any resistance from the council regarding allocating additional funds to the schools.

“The council is open to anything related to education,” he said. “Teachers need to be paid better and I know they are fighting for the best for themselves and their students.”

Alexa Lewis can be reached at [email protected].