Photo: Abby Fox
Students went back to school last Wednesday. Here are some First Day of School moments from Frenchtown Elementary School.

 BY ABBY FOX

The teachers’ union and the negotiating team for the school committee reached a tentative agreement on the teachers’ contract last Wednesday night.
Matt Oliverio, attorney for the school committee, will present the contract at the school committee’s executive session Sept. 15, for the full committee’s approval, and the union is scheduled to hear it the following day, he said.
“We have to submit them to our respective representatives, me to the school committee and the union negotiation to their rank and file, at which time, once it’s been ratified, we can disclose the terms,” Olivierio said. “Until that arrives, we agreed we’re not going to disclose the terms. We still have to persuade them. As far as I’m concerned, the negotiations went well: they were tough but they were productive.” The public “will be very satisfied with the progress that was made. It’s a very responsible contract, from a fiscal and managerial point of view, and fair to the teachers.”
And the time-management was good too, he said.
“The negotiations were done in record time. We had ten sessions. In terms of a cost to the district, it was extremely prudent and reasonable.”
The last go-round of negotiations, “the cost district at least $60,000 and a cost this time was a fraction of that,” he said.