RIFs, Involuntary Transfers, and Recalls

Last week, the District completed the Reduction in Force (RIF) process. I want to acknowledge how difficult this time has been, and I am truly sorry for anyone who received a pink slip. It is my sincere hope that the District will be able to offer positions to those affected once the City budget process concludes, which is expected to be completed sometime in June.

The good news is that the number of pink slips issued was significantly lower than anticipated—fewer than five—compared to what we were facing in mid-March.

Now that the RIF process is complete, the voluntary transfer window is open and will remain open through May 6. After that, the involuntary transfer process will begin. At my request, HR has reviewed the list of involuntary transfers with building principals and encouraged them to speak directly with impacted teachers. If there are open positions of interest, I urge those teachers to submit a voluntary transfer request now.

You can find the Transfer Request Form and list of open positions here:

Open Positions and Transfer Request Form

Currently, all involuntary transfers are at the high school level, with the exception of one elementary position (the building reps at that school have been informed). HR has informed me that in total, there will be nine involuntary transfers—which occur when an educator must move to a new school within their designated area. There will also be a few intrabuilding reassignments, where educators shift to new positions within the same school.

Once involuntary transfers are finalized, the District will be able to begin recalling teachers who were pink-slipped. I’m hopeful that the Board of Aldermen will have completed the city budget by that time. If additional funding is allocated to the District, there’s a possibility that all pink-slipped staff could be recalled.

I understand how stressful and uncertain this process can be. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

Title One

Last week, Title One teachers were informed that the status of their funding is currently uncertain, and as a result, the department may also experience a reduction-in-force (RIF). Under the teachers’ contract, Title One is considered its own separate pool in the RIF process, which makes potential layoffs especially difficult due to the small number of staff in each designated area.

I met with the Title One teachers on Thursday to explain the unique aspects of the RIF process as it applies to their positions. At this point, we are primarily in a waiting period to see whether the funding will be approved.

Title One funding has been delayed in the past, which unfortunately led to temporary pink slips. However, once the funding was released, all affected educators were recalled.

NTU Constitution

A few weeks ago, I announced that there will be a General Membership meeting on May 27, 2025. One of the key agenda items for that meeting is a vote on proposed amendments to the NTU Constitution.

If approved, the amendments will:

• Officially add our two newest units—the Family Engagement Coordinators and the American Sign Language Interpreters—to the NTU Constitution.

• Add one at-large building representative for the Family Engagement Coordinators.

• Add one at-large building representative for the American Sign Language Interpreters.

• Add one teacher representative to Pennichuck Middle School and one teacher representative to Fairgrounds Middle School.

These changes were reviewed and approved by the Constitution Committee. The updates are necessary to reflect the addition of two new units to the Nashua Teachers’ Union over the past year. Additionally, due to last year’s redistricting, McCarthy Middle School is no longer the largest middle school. To ensure balanced representation across all middle schools, the Constitution Committee recommends adding two more middle school teacher representatives.

You can review the full NTU Constitution with the proposed amendments marked in red here:

2025 NTU Constitution Amendments

NTU Election April 23, 2025

The NTU election will be held on April 23, 2025. If you are not going to be at school that day, please reach out to your building's union representative for early voting on April 22,2025. Make sure you read the directions when voting since certain races are only for members in certain units. Also, if you are on the ballot, you cannot run the election at your school. If you have any questions about the election, please reach out to the NTU's office manager:

Terry Freeman: freemant@nashuatu.org

The following candidates have submitted signatures and profiles to run for the Executive Board for the April 23, 2025 NTU Election. Please click on the candidates name to read their profile: 

Vice President

Adam Marcoux

Treasurer

Stacy Gingras

Member-at-Large (Two Openings)
Patty Gagnon
Wendy Stough