AMHERST – The Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee (ARSC) has filed a petition for mediation after failing to reach a contract agreement with the Amherst Pelham Educators Association (APEA) over their last eight months of bargaining, according to a statement released by ARSC Chair Ben Herrington on behalf of the committee.

The groups were unable to reach a consensus to use interest based bargaining and began traditional bargaining in March where each party crafts and presents proposals until eventually reaching an agreement.

“In their original proposal, the APEA requested compensation increases totaling over $3 million per year, or over $2.4 million more than what the school districts had budgeted,” Herrington said in the statement. “Since then, our talks have focused on attempting to move toward a sustainable compromise solution that is more compatible with what our districts and towns can afford. At our last meeting on June 22, the APEA presented a new proposal that included compensation increases totaling over $15 million per year, an increase of $12 million over their original proposal and $14.4 million more than what is budgeted.”

The APEA did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.

Teachers, paraeducators and other members of the APEA staged a walk-in protest on May 12 after the ARSC lowered its original 2.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment to 2 percent following the shift to traditional bargaining. APEA President Meka Magee called that move a “punishment for our representative council voting to continue negotiations by traditional bargaining.”

The ARSC statement confirms that the previously approved budgets already plan on using over $1.3 million in one-time Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grants to preserve next year’s budget, and in turn the existing programs and staff positions.

“The compensation increases that the APEA is requesting just in the first year of the contract are $11 million more than the total remaining ESSER funds available to the districts, and $12.6 million more than the total average annual increase in tax revenues in Amherst, Leverett, Pelham and Shutesbury combined,” Herrington said. “As a result, the Regional School Committee has decided to file a petition for mediation.”