Bay Path High School teachers and parents deliver petition to school committee

CHARLTON, MA – Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School teachers, parents, and former students delivered a petition at the September 8 School Committee meeting signed by over 1,100 community members from the school’s ten sending districts and across the county.  The petition called for the School Committee to return to contract negotiations with the school’s 130 licensed teachers and to prioritize a living wage for the 20 paraprofessionals.

Jessica Huberdaut, a parent of a BPRVT High School student, reminded the School Committee that coming to an agreement with school employees “should not be about winning, should not be about control.  It’s about valuing students and teachers, and the future of our school”.

Theresa Boucher, a Bay Path graduate, warned the School Committee that “all the members of the community are angry and heartbroken. When I was in eighth grade, Bay Path was my dream school – but now I hope my siblings and cousins don’t come here because of how the administration is running the building, forcing teachers to other jobs in other school systems. The teachers are only asking to be treated fairly. Why can’t you do that?”

The Bay Path Teachers Association (BPTA) has attempted to bargain with the Committee since they walked away from negotiations earlier this year. The BPTA filed a lawsuit and on June 11, the Department of Labor Relations (DLR) ruled that “The School District has failed to bargain in good faith” based on their refusal to meet with the union. Despite that, the School Committee has yet to agree on any new dates to bargain. The Teachers have been working under an expired contract since June 30, 2026; the paraprofessionals have been working under an expired contract since June 30, 2025.

Members of the BPTA are concerned that the Committee’s failure to act will snowball into unsolvable issues at the school. Staff will continue meeting and acting to try to get the School Committee to stop violating the law, return to negotiations, and work to solve issues that affect students and school employees alike.  Eileen McNamara, President of the BPTA and a History teacher, expressed her concern of this growing crisis, warning the School Committee that “issues like proper support for special education and timely responses to staff concerns, let alone how Bay Path is recruiting and retaining skilled educators, continue to go unanswered.” Christine Savoie, lifetime Charlton resident and an owner of the Quarter Keg pub, urged the School Committee to consider that “immediate action is required with your leadership in question.  How can over 150 educators express such disappointment and dissatisfaction with such a lack of leadership?  There is a profound lack of confidence in this body that must be immediately addressed!”