Norton School Committee Ratifies Three-Year Teachers Contract, Accepts Member Resignation

School Committee · Meeting of March 18, 2026

Norton School Committee ratifies three-year teachers contract and approves two overseas student trips. The committee voted 4-0 with one abstention to approve a memorandum of agreement with the Norton Teachers Association, ending negotiations that began in November 2024; the deal includes a restructured salary grid, the removal of the bottom two pay steps to raise starting wages, and cost-of-living increases of 2.5 percent in years one and two and 2.75 percent in year three. The committee also unanimously approved Global Education Club trips to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland in April 2028 at just over $4,600 per student, and to Australia in summer 2029 at an estimated just under $6,000 per student, both organized through EF Tours at no cost to the district.

A youth health survey targeting grades 7 through 12 — last given in 2017, when 75 students reported seriously considering suicide or self-harm — passed 4-1 over one member's objections about the scope of questions posed to younger students. The committee accepted the resignation of member Audrey Moshela, who cited a move out of town, and will fill the vacancy through a joint appointment with the Select Board after the upcoming town meeting.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of March 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.