Ratification Meeting on first contract for ASL/FEC Units Today!

The negotiating teams for Unit E – American Sign Language Interpreters and Unit F – Family Engagement Coordinators have reached a tentative agreement with the Board of Education’s negotiating team on their first collective bargaining agreement.

On December 9, 2025, the NTU Board of Directors reviewed a summary of the tentative agreement and unanimously voted to recommend its approval.

The full tentative agreement will be presented to members of both units today, December 15, 2025, at 4:15 p.m. at the NTU Office. If both units vote to approve the agreement, it will then be submitted to the Board of Education for ratification, ideally during its regular meeting later that same day.

Following Board of Education approval, the agreement will move to the Board of Aldermen for final authorization, a process that typically takes approximately one month.

Paraeducators Punching Out for Lunch

Last Thursday, District Payroll informed me that paraeducators will now be required to punch out for their 30-minute unpaid lunch. This decision was made by the Payroll Department at City Hall, not by the Nashua School District, and it applies to all city employees with unpaid lunch periods.

I have a number of concerns about how this new requirement will work in practice, particularly in larger buildings with a limited number of time clocks. Unfortunately, because this is a citywide payroll directive whose objective is to better comply with the labor standards set forth by the Department of Labor, it is not subject to the grievance process.

That said, I want to explore ways to make this transition as manageable as possible for paraeducators. Over the next few days, I will be reaching out to paraeducators to gather feedback and suggestions on how the NTU can best advocate on their behalf regarding this issue.

Service Logs

The joint labor/management Service Log Subcommittee met last week to discuss ways to simplify the service log requirement and make it more manageable for staff. The committee agreed that uploading service logs to NHSEIS every month is not practical and is overly time-consuming.

As a result, the special education administrative team has been tasked with developing a more efficient and streamlined process for uploading service logs. That work is expected to move forward in the near future.

The committee also discussed the service log form itself. Two different forms are currently being piloted: one at McCarthy Middle School and one at Brentwood. The subcommittee will meet again on January 22, 2026, to review feedback from both pilots and select a single form to be used districtwide.

Once finalized, the service log form will be available in both digital and paper formats. While the goal is to have the new form ready by February, I am going to advocate that its use will not be mandatory until next school year, since many schools already have systems in place that are working effectively.

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

Please Complete Mandatory ArxED Training

The Superintendent asked me to remind staff to complete all mandatory ArxED training by December 31, 2025. This training was assigned on August 25, 2025 and includes the state-required Suicide Prevention Training.

Many staff members completed this training during district-assigned time on the first staff day of the school year. However, the NTU requested that Central Office allow additional time because many members expressed that they needed that day to work in their classrooms and prepare for the first day of school. Dr. Andrade agreed and extended the deadline to December 31, 2025.

As of now, approximately half of the staff members required to complete this training have done so. If you are required to complete the training and have not yet finished it, you should be receiving weekly reminders from ArxED. If you have already completed the training, or if you are not required to participate, you should not be receiving these updates.

Building Meetings

I've visited exactly half of the schools in the Nashua School District thus far. If I haven't been to your school yet, please check below for my scheduled visit to your school. One issue I've been speaking with members about is the impact that Statewide Open Enrollment will have in New Hampshire. Reaching Higher NH recently help a seminar on the issue and you can watch it yourself on YouTube to learn more about it:

Statewide Open Enrollment Seminar

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

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