Swampscott School Committee Approves New Governance Protocols, Four Labor Agreements

SWAMPSCOTT -- May 14, 2026, Swampscott School Committee unanimously adopted updated governance protocols and approved four labor agreements with the teachers union at its May 14 meeting. Chair Glenn Pastor led the full board through a line-by-line review of the committee's operating protocols for 2026-27, incorporating member-proposed edits including a new requirement that all information requests flow through both the superintendent and committee chair, before a unanimous vote to adopt the document. The committee then passed four memorandums of agreement with the Swampscott Education Association covering stipends, teacher coverage, tutor evaluation, and ESP evaluation, all stemming from last year's interest-based bargaining negotiations, with the stipend adjustment valued at approximately $28,000 already built into the district budget. High school guidance counselor Rachel Sturmer reported that 80 percent of AP exams scored a 3 or above in 2024-25, up in volume from 417 to 603 total exams, earning a College Board gold-medal ranking. Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Martha Raymond flagged the district's practice of using incoming circuit breaker reimbursement funds to offset current-year budget needs as a structural risk, warning that "at some point it's going to bite us" and require the town to provide emergency special education funding.