Education Matters US

The school board tonight ratified the teachers contract tonight with no discussion. A statement from the board was read before and after the vote. There were approximately 90 people in attendance tonight with about 70 of them being teachers.

I spoke with Board President Cheryl Davis after the meeting, she will try to get me a copy of the statement as soon as possible. She is currently having email problems so it may take a few days. I’ll outline the points I was able to write down until I get the actual statement:

• Thanked the teachers union for all the work over the past several months
• one session was over 10 hours long
• 12/16/2005 at 5:07 AM a tentative agreement was reached
• 1/6/2006 – Teachers approved the tentative agreement
• Last board meeting was the first opportunity the board had to review and discuss the details of the agreement
• Needed clarification on a few points before voting
• No intent to be disrepectful of the teachers

Again, there was no discussion, just a unanimous vote. Kristen was unable to attend due to a prior family commitment.

Public comment was moved to the end after the school board ratified the contract.

During public comment, Jeff Isaacson spoke and asked the board to give lists of the most important items in the contract, list of things that didn’t get done and a plan for how to get them done in the future as they released details of the contract. Thanks them for giving the teachers what they wanted.

Mary Jane Lucas thanked the teachers for putting the kids first. Said the community would appreciate getting the contract done instead of fighting or striking.

I was informed there will be a Press Release sent out tomorrow and a copy placed on the District website. There may also be a letter that goes home with the students.

As always, if anything needs to be added or corrected, please contact me. My comments are below.

First, there were no details given. The community has no idea yet whether this is a good or bad contract for the District.

Second, how many of you will be screaming at the Board if this contract causes them to make staffing cuts that raises class size or cut programs because they are now unsustainable. It would all be made possible by giving the teachers what they want but the District can’t afford.

Third, I thought the teachers action tonight was very rude and showed their real purpose. When the floor was opened up for Public Comment, the majority of the teachers got up and walked out. First, an unknown man got up and walked right in front of the audience instead of leaving through the back. He looked at others in the audience and they followed his lead. It was obvious that they were making a statement for all to see. The public commentor had to wait before he could be heard. This show that this was not about the kids, but about getting what they wanted. They got it and then they rudely left without giving the public speakers any courtesy whatsoever.

Fourth, you don’t wear buttons to school and tell the students who ask about it that you are going to strike. That is blackmail and it is not for the kids. It is for themselves. They should at least be honest about that fact.