KINGSTON — September 10, 2026 — The Silver Lake Regional School Committee approved adjustments to the recently finalized teachers collective bargaining agreement Thursday following an executive session, rectifying omitted differential calculations and establishing a 3% stipend boost. The committee also moved to grant an immediate academic policy waiver to allow Advanced Placement Research students to administer surveys without district notification delays, endorsed updated inter-district kitchen equipment sales, and voted to open the high school tennis facilities.
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Following an executive session on collective bargaining strategy with the Silver Lake Education Association (SLEA), the committee reconvened in open session to formalize several contract alterations that had not appeared in the previous approval vote.
Director of Human Resources Liz Grindle explained to the committee that while salary schedules were accurate, certain differential adjustments had been missing from the previously adopted document, despite already being active in payroll systems. The adjustments also include a 3% stipend increase in the contract’s initial year, along with a middle school schedule swap designed as a net-zero impact across two positions. The updated contract passed by a unanimous voice vote.
The committee also weighed research protocols at the high school level. Faculty presenter Carrie Mathias addressed the committee alongside High School Principal Michaela Gill, requesting an immediate exemption from district policy File ILD, which governs student submissions to surveys and educational research. Mathias explained that the strict deadlines mandated by the College Board make the district’s mandatory advance notification window impossible to navigate around winter weather and vacation closures.
“Because these academic surveys are tightly controlled to ensure minimal risk to human subjects and are an explicitly mandated component of a standardized College Board curriculum, subjecting them to follow-up policy as listed in Section I, File ILDL of the district policy can overtly obstruct students from completing their time-sensitive research requirements in completing the course.” — 0:38:52 Carrie Mathias
Superintendent Jill Proulx recommended granting the one-year waiver while directing the policy subcommittee to craft permanent policy revisions. The committee voted unanimously to suspend the policy for AP Research students for the 2026–2027 school year.
Committee member Jason Fraser highlighted state-level legislative monitoring, reporting that the Foundation Budget Review Commission has reassembled to address flaws identified in the Chapter 70 education funding formula. Fraser also raised alarms over a potential federal rollback of the E-rate program currently under review by the Federal Communications Commission, noting the rebate program has historically preserved tens of thousands of dollars in technology and internet connectivity funding for member schools.
