Beverly School Committee approves teachers union contract, honors departing vice president

BEVERLY -- December 8, 2021, Beverly School Committee votes 7-0 to ratify a memorandum of agreement with Beverly Teachers Association Unit C. The vote came after a roughly 30-minute executive session on the evening of December 8, capping a meeting that also recognized outgoing Vice President John Milady, a six-year member who praised pandemic-era service as "a blessing" in a lengthy farewell address. Superintendent Dr. Sue Trojcek reported the district's average daily COVID-19 incident rate had climbed from 19.82 to 62.96 over four weeks, while 722 tests administered through the state test-and-stay program had preserved 710 in-person school days and identified 10 positive cases. The committee also voted 7-0 to accept a $1,000 gift from the Beverly Female Charitable Society for menstrual equity programs, 7-0 to add a May 11 public hearing for the FY23 budget, and heard that a new mobile vaccination clinic for students ages 5 to 18 is planned for January 7 at the middle school, with boosters available that day.