Category: Dorchester Reporter

  • Candidates line up to replace Morrissey as Norfolk County DA

    After years of controversy surrounding the Norfolk County district attorney’s office, voters will choose a new top prosecutor this fall as a crowded field of candidates begins to take shape.

    District attorneys serve as the chief law enforcement officials in their counties, overseeing criminal prosecutions, working with police on investigations, and deciding what charges to bring or whether to bring them at all.

    The race comes after longtime Norfolk District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey announced in January that he would not seek reelection, having served since 2010. Morrissey’s tenure has drawn increasing scrutiny in recent years over how his office handled several high-profile cases.

    The Sept. 1 Democratic primary is likely to decide the race, as voters in 28 cities and towns including in Brookline choose from a field of six candidates. 

    High-profile cases fuel scrutiny of DA’s office

    The most high-profile case in recent Norfolk County history was that of Karen Read, who was charged with killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in 2022. Prosecutors alleged Read struck O’Keefe with her SUV and left him in the snow, while her defense argued she was framed and that O’Keefe was injured elsewhere.

    The case drew national attention, fueled protests outside the courthouse, and raised questions about evidence handling and potential conflicts of interest. After a mistrial in 2024, Read was acquitted of the most serious charges in 2025, though she was convicted of driving under the influence.

    Another case that intensified criticism of the office is the death of Sandra Birchmore, a 23-year-old woman found dead in her Canton apartment in 2021. Her death was initially ruled a suicide, and the district attorney’s office said it found no evidence of foul play. 

    Federal prosecutors later alleged that Birchmore was killed by a former Stoughton police officer, who staged the scene to appear as a suicide, raising questions about why the case was not pursued more aggressively at the local level.

    Together, the cases have prompted broader concerns about investigative practices, prosecutorial decision-making, and the relationship between law enforcement agencies in Norfolk County. Those issues are now at the center of the race to replace Morrissey.

    A crowded candidate field

    Several candidates have centered their campaigns on reform aimed at restoring public trust, though they differ in how deeply they believe the office’s problems run.

    Djuna Perkins , a former prosecutor and civil attorney, has been among the most forceful critics of the office’s recent performance. She pointed to what she described as “bad and unethical decisions” in the handling of high-profile cases and called the failure to pursue charges in the Sandra Birchmore case a “complete failure of our government” which inspired her to run for DA. 

    Perkins said she would begin her tenure with a top-to-bottom audit of the office and emphasized the need to return to “the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and transparency.”

    Adam Deitch , a former federal prosecutor who worked on public corruption cases, has also emphasized restoring public trust, focusing on transparency and access to the office. 

    “Folks feel like the DA’s office is closed to them, and that should not be the case,” he said.

    He said he would pursue that transparency through structural changes, including regular public meetings, expanded access to information and the creation of a dedicated anti-corruption unit. He also supports the creation of dedicated task forces for elder fraud and hate crimes.

    Greg Connor , who spent 25 years as a prosecutor in the Norfolk DA’s office, has taken a different approach, emphasizing experience and continuity while acknowledging the need for change. 

    Connor acknowledged concerns about recent cases, saying the Karen Read prosecution was “overcharged,” but pointed to what he described as the office’s broader track record.

    He highlighted the expansion of overdose prevention efforts and diversion programs such as drug court and veterans court and said he would build on those initiatives while more strictly enforcing conflict-of-interest rules requiring prosecutors or officers with personal connections to a case to step aside and introducing new units focused on cold cases and animal cruelty.

    “I think that anyone who wins is going to rebuild that office in what they want to do,” he said, framing his candidacy as an effort to build on the office’s existing strengths rather than overhaul it.

    Craig MacLellan , who has worked as both a prosecutor and a defense attorney, has positioned himself as another middle-ground candidate, arguing that reform is needed without dismissing the work of career prosecutors. 

    “The vast majority of cases … are handled in a professional manner,” he said of the current DA’s office.

    He acknowledged that recent controversies have “caused the public to lose a great deal of confidence in the office,” criticizing “certain elements” of the Karen Read case as “very poorly” handled and saying the Birchmore investigation “left a lot to be desired.”

    To regain public trust, MacLellan said the office is “in need of reform” in three core areas: community engagement and outreach, the office’s internal structure, and the way deaths are investigated, all of which need to be “reinvented and reimagined.”

    Macy Lee , who currently serves as director of the state’s Office of Medicaid Board of Hearings and previously led a narcotics unit in the Suffolk County district attorney’s office, has emphasized her experience managing large systems and pointed to hate crimes and constitutional protections as key priorities, drawing on her own experiences with discrimination.

    Lee, who is Asian American, said she “experienced hate at a very young age,” adding that those experiences have shaped her commitment to ensuring protections for “all residents, not just citizens,” and to taking a zero-tolerance approach to civil rights violations, including by federal immigration enforcement.

    Jim Barakat , a defense attorney, has framed his campaign around a broader critique of the criminal justice system and the role of prosecutors within it. 

    “I’ve spent my career representing people against the full weight of the system, and that changes how you see justice,” he said.

    Barakat argued that the office should move away from prioritizing conviction rates and instead focus on rehabilitation and reducing recidivism. 

    “We should be asking: are we reducing harm, are we treating people fairly, and are we building trust?” he said.

    Correction: A previous version of this article linked to the incorrect website for Greg Connor. The article has been updated.

  • In 7-0 vote, School Committee passes $1.73 billion budget

    The Boston School Committee on Wednesday unanimously passed a $1.73 billion budget for next school year, a more than 4.5 percent increase over this year’s spending plan, but ongoing financial pressures and declining enrollment will put between 300 and 400 jobs at risk. 

    Advocates are calling for the city to invest an additional 1 percent of its operating budget, about $48 million, to avert cuts to student services. The School Committee holds exclusive authority to revise line items in the budget. The City Council and Mayor may approve, reject or reduce the total recommended budget, but do not have the authority to revise individual items or increase the budget. 

    During a February budget presentation, Superintendent Mary Skipper said certain reductions would be necessary as costs continue to outpace revenues. She said fewer teachers would be needed because of an enrollment decline of about 3,000 students over the last two years. Other top financial pressures includee labor contracts, transportation expenses and rising health insurance costs. 

    Increased expenses have contributed to an estimated $53 million budget deficit this year, which led to a hiring freeze announced in January.

    “The budget that the city has proposed for the schools is not adequate to meet the needs of all of our members, particularly students with disabilities and multilingual learners,” said Boston Teachers Union President Erik Berg. “The restoration of any necessary services for our students is a move in the right direction. We’re seeking additional funding added into the BPS budget so they can restore some of the services that are currently [cut].”

    Those proposed cuts would primarily impact teaching and aide positions, as well as administrative roles and other support staff. Special education and bilingual faculty are to be especially affected.

    Mary Stenson, a school nurse at the Melvin H. King South End Academy Elementary School — a specialized school for students with increased social and emotional needs — said she has seen the effects of reductions first-hand, adding parents who have students with similar needs should find these cuts “alarming.” 

    “People see our students as ‘bad kids,’ but they just need their emotional needs met. Bigger schools can’t meet their needs,” Stenson said. “Listen to educators. Take it from the people in the buildings.” 

    Formerly known as the McKinley schools, the Melvin H. King Academy offers speech therapy, physical therapy and dental and vision care, among other services. Julie Cass, a paraprofessional, said it’s not uncommon to need multiple staff members to address the behavioral needs of one student. Reducing special education staff in favor of inclusion models could create unsafe environments for other students and staff, she said.

    “We do intense and effective work. Some kids can coast by, our kids can’t coast,” Cass said. “Many students come in with low self-esteem. They get to find out how smart they are.”

    Sumaya Sheike, a fifth-year educator at Dr. William H. Henderson Inclusion School in Dorchester, said cuts will “hurt” her students and may make the work of remaining staff more difficult.

    “There are a lot of steps to go through before eliminating student-facing roles,” Sheike said. “You can’t talk about the successes of BPS without the faults.”

    For Simel Rodriguez, who has a fifth grader at Blackstone Elementary in the South End with both behavioral and multilingual needs, cuts to special education services could mean losing communication with her daughter. 

    Rodriguez’s daughter has an IEP — an Individualized Education Program — and benefits from speech therapy and additional support in math and reading. 

    “All students, regardless of diverse needs, need this staff,” said Rodriguez, translated from Spanish. “By cutting these things, you limit all learners.”

    Rodriguez was one of dozens of parents, union members and advocates who rallied outside City Hall before the City Council budget hearing Tuesday, to call on the Council and Mayor Michelle Wu to prevent service cuts. In an overflowing chamber, Boston Public Schools students presented legislators with letters of intent tied to flowers and many more gave oral testimony.

    Ahead of the 7-0 vote on Wednesday, School Committee members discussed the allocation of transitional funds for schools that will close, improvements for future budget seasons and the role of public comment in amending the budget.  

    “I’m sure there are things we are doing in our schools because we’ve always done them, that may or may not give us the outcomes that we’re looking for,” said School Committee Chair Jeri Robinson, calling for an audit of the BPS central office and at the school level. “It’s time to do some self-reflection. Student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors do.”

    The budget now goes to the City Council and Wu for final approval.

  • Hundreds celebrated 250th anniversary of Evacuation Day on Dorchester Heights

    Hundreds celebrated 250th anniversary of Evacuation Day on Dorchester Heights

    Above: Revolutionary War reenactors fire their muskets at the city. The guns were only loaded with powder, not actual bullets. Photo by Truman Dickerson 

    Hundreds of people and dozens of Revolutionary War reenactors on Tuesday, March 17 celebrated the 250th anniversary of the British evacuation from Boston with cannon fire, musket volleys and war cries on Dorchester Heights in present-day South Boston.

    “I’m really grateful as governor that so many people understand the importance of celebrating our history,” Governor Maura Healey said at the event. “If we don’t know our history, we’re not going to know where we need to go in the future.” 

    The event, organized by the South Boston Citizens’ Association and the National Park Service, commemorated a military maneuver by George Washington at the beginning of the Revolutionary War, where he and his soldiers secretly placed artillery pieces on the Dorchester Heights, which overlook downtown Boston.

    “British forces wake up, and they see all of this new stuff on top of Dorchester Heights, and they’re like, ‘Oh, what are we going to do?” Lou Rocco, director of museum operations and experience at Revolutionary Spaces, a history museum in downtown Boston, said in an interview.  

    Rocco said a snowstorm halted an initial British assault aimed at dislodging the guns, and that Washington and the British commander, General William Howe, eventually reached a “gentleman’s agreement” by which Howe agreed to evacuate his troops without laying waste to the city. 

    Washington, in turn, agreed not to fire on Howe’s forces.

    “Had [Washington] chosen to shell the city from Dorchester Heights, it would have been devastating for the town, for the British army stationed there, and for the many British naval ships,” Rocco added. 

    On Tuesday, elected officials from across Massachusetts joined park rangers, historians and reenactors on the hilltop to mark the occasion and to emphasize the enduring legacy of the colonists’ fight for freedom. 

    “Here is where they stood together, here with a common purpose, which was nothing less than liberty itself,” Representative Stephen Lynch, of Massachusetts’ Eighth congressional district, said at the event. “Hardworking families from across the colonies, rebelling against the King of England.”

    Brad Bittenbender, a 77-year-old member of the Sons of the American Revolution, said it was a “form of public service” to carry a musket, don colonial regimental garb and participate in mock drills on the hilltop.

    “Our mission is to keep alive the basis of this country, what it was founded on,” the Wrentham native said. “To remember the patriots who made that possible … to have the freedom that we have today.”

    Redcoats man the cannons. Credit: Truman Dickerson

    In order to join the Sons of the American Revolution, applicants must prove direct lineage to a colonial soldier who fought in the Revolutionary War.

    “We don’t refer to ourselves as reenactors,” Bittenbender said. “We are direct descendants of Revolutionary War patriots.”

    In Bittenbender’s Massachusetts regiment, uniforms are custom-made by a tailor in the state who takes measurements of each man. Bittenbender’s officers’ uniform cost him $1,200, and his musket, an Italian-made replica of the standard British pattern of the time, costs $900, he said. 

    “This has already been shot six times today,” he said, cocking the rifle’s hammer.  

    After the last speech of the afternoon, given by Tarona Armstrong, the superintendent of National Parks of Boston, a few dozen reenactors lined up in formation and manned cannons aimed at downtown Boston. 

    After an order was given, the guns (which were not loaded with actual cannonballs) went off with deafening bangs. Then, groups of reenactors, who were separated by state, raised their muskets and leveled them toward Boston’s skyline before firing them too.

    Bittenbender, asked if there was any bad blood between his Massachusetts regiment and those dressed in British uniforms, chuckled.

    “We don’t really think about that,” he said.

    This story is a product of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

    A mounted reenactor circles the hill. He was trailed by a National Park employee, who picked up the animal’s droppings with a large shovel. Credit: Truman Dickerson

  • BPD officer charged with manslaughter in shooting death of Dorchester man last week

    BPD officer charged with manslaughter in shooting death of Dorchester man last week

    A Boston police officer charged with manslaughter after he shot and killed a Dorchester man suspected in an apparent carjacking in Roxbury last week was released on personal recognizance after his arraignment Thursday.

    The officer, Nicholas O’Malley, 33, of West Roxbury, pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter charge in Roxbury Municipal Court. He left court with his family and is on paid leave, said Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association.

    Officer O’Malley and his attorney, Kenneth H. Anderson, during the arraignment on March 19, 2026. Truman Dickerson photo.

    O’Malley fatally shot Stephenson King, 39, of Dorchester, on March 11 after King allegedly tried to flee during a alleged carjacking pursuit in Roxbury shortly before 10 p.m. O’Malley’s attorney, Kenneth H. Anderson, told the court that O’Malley feared for another officer’s life and fired three shots at King during the encounter.

    But Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum told the court that body camera footage and the testimony of an eyewitness showed that “Mr. King was trying to drive away” when O’Malley fired the shots.

    “Neither officer was in the path of the car or being in danger of being struck by it at the time,” Polumbaum said.

    Polumbaum asked Judge Steven Kim to set bail at $25,000, while Anderson asked that O’Malley be released on personal recognizance. 

    As a condition of his release, O’Malley will have to surrender any firearms, according to court records. 

    Prior to the encounter, King allegedly stole a woman’s car after assaulting her and ordering her out of the car, according to a criminal complaint. He was unarmed and “did show the officers his hands at times” but did not shut off the vehicle or unlock the doors, according to the complaint.

    Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden (right) and Assistant District Attorney Ian Polumbaum spoke to reporters after the arraignment in Roxbury Trial Court on March 19, 2026. Truman Dickerson photo.

    Speaking to reporters after the arraignment, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said his office will not release body camera footage of the incident to the public. He also said his office will show evidence to a grand jury and pursue the manslaughter charge in Suffolk Superior Court, although that has not happened yet.

    Some 50 BPD officers were present in the courtroom during the arraignment. Calderone, of the patrolmen’s association, said a Boston police officer has not been arrested and charged in connection with an officer involved shooting in at least 30 years. 

    “I’ve been involved in probably 100 or more police shootings. This is the first one anyone’s ever been arrested,” said Anderson, O’Malley’s attorney.

    Anderson and Calderone took exception to the nature of O’Malley’s arrest at his home this morning, claiming that he would have willingly brought himself to a police station or court to face charges.

    “This is election year tactics,” Anderson added, appearing to reference this year’s district attorney election.

    Hayden disputed that charge, saying the evidence was clear that King was not driving towards O’Malley or the other officer on scene when O’Malley fired the shots.

    “This has nothing to do with public opinion, has nothing to do with politics,” Hayden said. “This has to do with us following the facts and the applicable law.”

    City Councilors Miniard Culpepper and Brian Worrell, in a joint statement issued Thursday, thanked Hayden’s office for “their swift action” in filing charges against O’Malley.

    “As elected city officials, it is our responsibility to build bridges between our community and law enforcement, and transparency is the foundation on which that trust is built,” the councillors wrote.

    Calderone was visibly angry at times as he spoke to reporters outside the courthouse. He said Polumbaum and “whomever else is involved in this investigation” are “jumping to conclusions” and scapegoating O’Malley. 

    O’Malley “was in fear of his partner’s life,” Calderone said. “Just because the camera shows an officer on the other side of the car, with the totality of the circumstances that were taking place, does not mean that the other officer had him in his vision.”

  • At City Hall vigil, calls for justice for Emmanuel Damas, who died while in ICE custody in Arizona

    At City Hall vigil, calls for justice for Emmanuel Damas, who died while in ICE custody in Arizona

    Speakers called for probe into actions by ICE, DHS, and local law enforcement in Boston and Suffolk County…

    More than 100 people stood in frigid weather at Boston’s City Hall Plaza Wednesday evening to mourn the death of Emmanuel Damas, the 56-year-old Haitian man who died in an Arizona ICE detention center on March 2.

    “America, we can do better than that,” Damas’ brother, Presner Nelson said. “We are better than that, and we expect better than that from our government.”

    Other vigil speakers called on state and federal politicians to launch an independent criminal investigation into the actions of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that they say resulted in Damas’ death. 

    Emmanuel Damas’s twin brothers, Presner and Presly Nelson spoke at the vigil alongside City Councillor Ruthzee Louijeune. Kelly Broder photo

    What his family says started as a toothache turned tragic when Damas was allegedly unable to access proper and timely health care at the Florence Detention Center in Arizona. The federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE officials have publicly refuted that allegation and have said Damas was taken to three different medical centers for treatment.

    Damas arrived legally in Dorchester in 2024 from Haiti and died after being taken to a facility in Phoenix for a cardiothoracic workup. The Laken Riley Act required he be held pending his asylum appeal. His original asylum claim was denied in 2025, filed after he was taken into custody by ICE in Boston last September.

    Vigil attendee Kate Billman-Golemme said she found the news of Emmanuel Damas’s death “deeply upsetting” and “morally offensive.” Kelly Broder photo

    The medical liaison for ICE notified Damas’ family that they were permitted to visit him eight days after he was intubated on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at the John C. Lincoln Medical Center, according to an ICE statement. 

    “We should not have to use your pain to call shame to a system that is every day abusing our neighbors — our immigrant brothers and sisters,” said City Councillor Ruthzee Louijeune, a daughter of Haitian immigrants. “I am so angry.” 

    Immigrant advocates asked Mayor Michelle Wu and Gov. Maura Healey to initiate an independent review of Boston and Suffolk County law enforcement, who arrested Damas and who submitted his fingerprints at the Nashua Street Jail into a federal database.

    Local representatives of LUCE believe the fingerprinting is probably what alerted ICE.

    The scene on Boston City Hall Plaza on Wed., March 18, 2026. Kelly Broder photo

    Hannah Hafter, a member of the Dorchester hub for LUCE, said Damas’s family is financially responsible for a full autopsy and for the transport of Damas’ body back to Haiti. 

    “His mother says she can’t stand the idea of him being buried in the country that rejected him and killed him,” Hafter said. The family has a GoFundMe page. 

    Brian Concannon, the founder and executive director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, urged members of Congress to end the attempt to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants through Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley’s discharge petition that would extend TPS. 

    Speakers at the vigil further demanded that Healey shut down the Boston Regional Intelligence Center, known as BRIC, an organization formed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that allows data sharing between state and federal officers.

    Latoya Gayle, a candidate for state Senate who volunteers with LUCE Network Massachusetts, said she is outraged by Damas’ treatment in ICE custody.

    “He didn’t deserve what happened to him,” Gayle said in an interview. “His family doesn’t deserve this. We don’t need another family to have to deal with that.”

    Representatives from the LUCE immigrant advocacy group, Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI) and local elected leaders like Councillor Miniard Culpepper attended the vigil for Emmanuel Damas. Kelly Broder photo

    Organizers also called for a divestment from CoreCivic, the private for-profit prison company that held Damas in the Arizona detention center. Vigil organizers said Citizens Bank finances CoreCivic and The GEO Group, two of the largest private operators of immigrant detention centers. 

    So far this year 12 people – including Damas – have died in ICE custody, according to the agency’s own records. An additional 31 died in ICE custody in 2025. 

    This story is part of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism. 

    Emmanuel Damas was living in Dorchester until his arrest and detention in Sept. 2025. Family photo

  • South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast to include international officials, local performers

    The St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast, where elected officials, military leaders and faith figureheads recognize local performers and trade light-hearted jabs, is set for Sunday, March 15 at 9 a.m…

    Before South Boston’s streets are crowded with intricately decorated floats and equally adorned spectators celebrating the annual St. Patrick’s Day and Evacuation Day parade, is another commemorated tradition — the St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast, where elected officials, military leaders and faith figureheads recognize local performers and trade light-hearted jabs.

    State Sen. Nick Collins of South Boston will host the breakfast, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Sunday, March 15, at the Ironworkers Union Hall in South Boston. 

    The sitting senator who represents South Boston traditionally organizes and hosts the event.

    The breakfast will be televised on NECN, NESN and BNN. It will also be on radio: WROL 950 AM and 100.3 FM.

    Aligning with the 250th anniversary of the United States, this year’s breakfast guests include Helen McEntee, the Irish minister of Defense, Foreign Affairs and Trade, Boston Archbishop Richard Henning of the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, and leaders of the Irish Defence Forces, the Massachusetts National Guard, the USS Barnum and the USS Massachusetts. 

    “For the 250th, we’re pulling out all the stops, and I’m honored to host this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast as we mark an important milestone for our community, our commonwealth, and our country,” Collins said in a statement. 

    There will be performances from the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, the Woods School of Irish Dance from South Boston, Curragh’s Fancy, the Tryder Sisters and The Irish Tenors, according to a Collins spokesperson.

    The parade, a separate event, is set to begin at 11:30 a.m., an hour-and-a-half earlier than previous years, which, according to Collins, is to help ensure a family-friendly environment and curb rowdy behavior such as overcrowding, underage drinking and public urination. 

    Collins and South Boston officials, including Boston City Councillor Ed Flynn, U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch and state Rep. David Biele, in a letter to the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents and the Associated Independent Colleges and Universities of Massachusetts, have requested that local universities and school districts remind students of safety protocols and expected behavior.

    “We want to remind visitors to South Boston that there will be zero tolerance for the out-of-control behavior that residents have endured in past years,” the letter reads. “Please show courtesy and respect for residents, veterans and military families, our dedicated first responders, and our nation’s history. Follow the golden rule—if you would not do it back home, do not do it here.”

    The letter details public safety measures outlined by a parade Task Force, such as an earlier start time, law enforcement stationing in high-risk areas, enforcement of roof-deck capacity limits and a crackdown on underage alcohol purchases. 

    “Our local businesses play a big role in what makes this event special,” Collins said in a statement about the breakfast. “Their continued partnership reflects the strong sense of community that defines South Boston and helps make the breakfast such a success each year.”

  • At Neighborhood House Charter school, a preliminary OK on first union contract

    After more than two years at the bargaining table, Neighborhood House Charter School educators have reached a preliminary agreement with the administration on their first union contract. 

    The tentative three-year pact covers about 150 school workers and includes measures on wage increases, student-to-teacher ratios ,and opportunities for educators to be involved in decision making, the Boston Teachers Union announced last Tuesday.

    “First contracts are complex and often take a long time,” union president Erik Berg said in an interview. “We certainly would have liked it to happen more quickly, but we’re happy that it came together when it did.”

    Educators will vote on the agreement early this month. The staff at the public charter school, which was founded in 1995, elected to unionize in February 2024 and started bargaining that June.

    “What’s important about having a contract in place is that the ratios, class sizes, and other conditions are codified in such a way that they cannot be changed on a whim,” Berg said. “So, it’s really more about putting in place guidelines that everyone knows and adheres to.”

    The school’s executive director, Edverette Brewster, had a front-row seat to negotiations despite stepping into the role after the unionization process had started. 

    “There was some trepidation because we’re new, and so it was this balancing act of trying to come into a community, get to know and build trust, while also simultaneously going through this process that can be contentious at points,” Brewster said in an interview. 

    He said his approach to this hurdle was being consistent and collaborative.

    Who we are and were at the bargaining table were the same people we were when we left the room, when we entered the room, and we saw them on the next day,” he said. 

    “I would say,” he added, “that the impetus and rationale for unionization all happened prior to us starting… What was explained to me was that it was a desire to have more voice in decision making and more transparency from leadership in decisions.” 

    A contentious issue during negotiations was financials, he noted. “Charter schools’ budgets work very differently from traditional public schools… if the boiler breaks, we have to find a way to pay for it,” he said. 

    The contract calls for wage increases for employees in each year of the contract through a salary scale. Berg said wage increases differ for each staff member, and he could not offer a single percentage figure. Neither the school nor the union responded to questions about the details.

    The agreement includes language that states educators’ rights and responsibilities and safeguards against “retaliation” for speaking about workplace or student issues. 

    “There was a recognition that the students at Neighborhood House come first,” Berg said, “and that getting a stable agreement in place with strong working conditions for educators and transparency around working conditions is going to make a better learning experience for the students, which is what everyone is all about.” 

    If the contract is not ratified, school and union officials will return to the bargaining table.

    The Boston Teachers Union is also in the process of its first contract negotiation with Codman Academy Charter School.

    This story is a product of a partnership between the Dorchester Reporter and the Boston University Department of Journalism.