ASL and FEC Contract Update

The tentative agreement for the ASL and FEC contract received its first reading before the Board of Aldermen on January 13, 2026. Eight members of the Board of Aldermen sponsored the agreement, which already represents a majority of the 15-member board. For that reason, I am optimistic that the tentative agreement will be approved in the near future.

The next step in the ratification process is review by the Board of Aldermen’s Budget Committee. That meeting is scheduled for January 26, 2026, at 7:15 p.m. at City Hall. I plan to attend and will be available to answer any questions the committee may have about the contract.

If the Budget Committee recommends approval, the agreement will move to the full Board of Aldermen. The Board is scheduled to meet the following evening, so it is possible the tentative agreement could be approved on January 27. However, depending on the length of the agenda, the vote may instead occur at the Board’s February 10 meeting.

Approval by the Board of Aldermen is the final step in the process, unless the mayor were to veto the agreement, which I do not believe is likely.

Special Educators Preparing Lessons for ESY Update

On Friday, January 9th, members of the Special Education Department—including SLPs, BCBAs, Behavior Specialists, Case Managers, and others—received an email from Central Office. In that message, they were informed that if they recommend a student for the summer ESY program, they must “be prepared to submit, by June, at least two weeks’ worth of materials, assignments, and instructional plans for ESY teachers to implement and use in collecting data over the summer.”

The NTU’s position is that requiring case managers or other educators to prepare lessons and instructional materials for a summer program constitutes a clear violation of the collective bargaining agreement. This expectation is no different from requiring, for example, a social studies teacher to prepare lessons for another teacher who is being paid to teach summer school.

I met with the Superintendent last Wednesday, and he agreed that staff should not be required to submit two weeks’ worth of instructional plans, assignments, or materials for the summer ESY program. I appreciate that the Superintendent listened to our concerns and agreed with our position. Thank you, Dr. Andrade.

FY 2027 Nashua School District Budget

The Nashua School District has begun the process of developing the budget for the 2026–2027 school year. As with last year, this is expected to be a challenging budget cycle. If no reductions were made to the current budget, the proposed increase would be approximately 6.5%.

In Nashua, the city budget typically increases by no more than 3–4% per year in order to prevent property tax rates from rising faster than the cost of living. Keeping with that past practice, this year, the Mayor has asked all city departments, including the School District, to keep their budget increases below 3%, which leaves a budget gap of 3.5% for the Nashua School District.

To put this into perspective, the School District’s budget is approximately $135 million. Each 1% of the budget represents roughly $1.35 million, which is equivalent to 20–25 teaching positions. For this reason, as we did last year, I will be asking NTU members to attend upcoming School Board budget meetings to advocate for our positions and our schools.

Please mark the following key dates on your calendar:

• February 18, 2026 – Superintendent presents the proposed budget to the School Board

• March 9, 2026 – Public hearing on the FY 2027 Nashua School District budget

• March 11, 2026 – Board of Education budget approval meeting

All of these meetings will be held at Nashua High School North and will begin at 6:00 p.m. We may hold a rally prior to the meetings on March 9 and March 11; however, I will first consult with NTU leadership before finalizing any plans.

There are additional budget-related meetings scheduled that are less critical for member attendance. You can view the full schedule of Board of Education meetings from January through March here:

BOE Meeting Schedule

During last week's School Board meeting, I also asked administration and the Board to commit to voting on any position cuts, even if those cuts are proposed after the budget has been approved. During last year’s budget cycle, several positions were eliminated after final budget approval. While I understand that enrollment data is sometimes not finalized until later in the process, any proposed reductions to existing positions should be brought before the School Board for a public vote so that changes are made in an open and transparent manner.

Several School Board members agreed that this approach is appropriate and noted that it has been the practice in past years, though it did not occur last year.

Longevity Checks Schedule

Over break, Nashua School District COO Krystal De Gray shared the longevity payment schedule for all NTU contracts. Members who are eligible for longevity will receive their payments on the following dates:

• Clerical: December 31, 2025

• Teachers: January 29, 2026

• Food Service: January 29, 2026

• Paraeducators: May 7, 2026

*American Sign Language Interpreters and Family Engagement Coordinators have longevity language included in their tentative agreement. Eligible members will receive their longevity payments after the contract is approved by the Board of Aldermen.

On a related note, I want to thank Krystal De Gray for proactively communicating these dates. In past years, longevity payments were often issued late with little or no advance notice from Central Office, so this level of communication is appreciated.

Retirement

Reminder! If you are in the Teachers’ Unit and are considering retiring at the end of this school year, according to Article 4:9A, you must submit a binding letter of retirement to the Superintendent no later than February 1st, 2026. Here is a sample retirement letter:

Sample Letter

If you have any questions about retirement in general, I highly suggest you reach out the NH Retirement System by phone or email. I speak with them often and they've always answered my questions quickly and accurately. Here's their contact information:

Phone: 603-410-3500

Email: info@nhrs.org

Questions? Comments? Need Assistance?  Contact a member of the Executive Board

Trying to email Gary? Make sure to use president@nashuatu.org