About 100 Brookline educators rallied outside the Runkle School on Friday, October 23, 2026, calling for higher pay, paid parental leave and better working conditions as the Brookline Educators Union keeps negotiating new contracts with the Brookline School Committee, Brookline.News reported. The three contracts covering the union’s three bargaining units expired on August 31, and their terms remain in effect until successor agreements are reached.
Negotiations have been underway since December 2025, according to Brookline.News. Both sides described progress, while the union said the two remain far apart on its core proposals.
Brookline teachers contract: where the sides stand
Union president Justin Brown told Brookline.News that the sides are exchanging proposals regularly and negotiating at “a good clip.” He added: “On some of our core proposals, like parental leave, like paraprofessional pay, we remain really far apart.”
School Committee Chair Bob Weintraub said: “We’re moving along. I wish we had a contract, Superintendent (Bella) Wong wishes we had a contract. We’ll get a contract.” He also said he remains optimistic the two sides will soon reach a “reasonable agreement,” according to the report.
Paid parental leave: 12 weeks vs. two
According to Brown, the union is seeking 12 weeks of employer-paid parental leave, while the School Committee’s current proposal provides two weeks. Brookline.News reported that the district does not currently offer a separate bank of employer-paid parental leave. Educators who give birth can use accrued sick time during the six to eight weeks they are considered unable to work after childbirth.
That time also counts toward the federal Family and Medical Leave Act. Under the FMLA, eligible employees can take up to 12 workweeks of job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the birth and care of a newborn, but the law does not require that leave to be paid, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Massachusetts separately runs a state Paid Family and Medical Leave program, but municipalities, including their school departments, are excluded unless their governing body, such as town meeting, votes to opt in, according to Mass.gov.
Marney Howes, a fourth-grade teacher at the Baker School, said in testimony read at the rally: “When educators are forced to drain their sick time just to cover a maternity leave, they return empty-handed when they need that time most to care for their children.”
Paraprofessional pay
The union is also seeking higher wages for paraprofessionals, who are paid hourly. Emily Redburn, a first-grade teacher at the Hayes School and a member of the union’s contract action team, said the goal is for paraprofessionals to earn a living without needing a second or third job, Brookline.News reported. Kayleigh Malcomson, a building aide paraprofessional at the Pierce School, said she sometimes feels like she is “four or five different people” over a few hours, moving from covering a classroom to supporting a student who needs emotional help.
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The budget backdrop
Town officials have said teacher pay remains a significant strain on Brookline’s budget, and a committee that studied the town’s finances last year called the existing pay structure “unsustainable,” according to Brookline.News. Any new agreements would be part of the town’s broader budget picture. Collective bargaining agreements are on the warrant for Brookline’s fall Special Town Meeting, which starts November 17, although the town’s article list does not say which agreements will be presented.
Under Massachusetts law, public school teachers bargain collectively with their school committees under Chapter 150E of the General Laws, and the same chapter prohibits strikes by public employees. The state Department of Labor Relations administers that law.
What comes next
- Bargaining sessions between the union and the School Committee continue; neither side has announced a date for a tentative agreement.
- Any tentative agreement would need ratification by union members and approval by the School Committee.
- Brookline’s Special Town Meeting begins November 17 and can run into early December.
Families following school governance across the river may also want our report on Boston School Committee applications and the council hearing on BPS reports.
Sources
- Brookline.News: Educators rally outside Runkle as contract talks continue (Oct. 26, 2026): rally, quotes, contract status and parental leave proposals.
- U.S. Department of Labor: Family and Medical Leave Act: 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.
- Massachusetts General Laws: Chapter 150E: public employee collective bargaining and the strike ban.
Additional sources
- Mass.gov: PFML coverage for statutorily excluded employers: municipal opt-in rules.
- Mass.gov: Department of Labor Relations: the state agency for public-sector labor relations.
- Town of Brookline: Current Town Meeting Files: collective bargaining article on the fall warrant.
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