Contract negotiations between the School Committee and the Warwick Teachers Union moved into mediation this week, but so far the two sides seem no closer to an agreement.
Meanwhile, teachers …
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Contract negotiations between the School Committee and the Warwick Teachers Union moved into mediation this week, but so far the two sides seem no closer to an agreement.
Meanwhile, teachers continue to boycott school open houses, although, according to some teachers, the union did not take a formal vote to “work to rule.” Attendance at open houses is not required by contract, and since the teacher contract expired on Aug. 31, teachers have been closely following the terms of their last pact.
In an effort to maintain a level of normalcy and parent involvement in schools, the administration went ahead with open houses where students can show off their rooms and desks and parents can meet one another as well as the principal and other personnel. Some of the open houses have been recast as school picnics or ice cream socials.
Attorney Vincent Ragosta is serving as mediator. Should the parties fail to reach an agreement, the next step would be arbitration. Teacher arbitration is binding on all issues other than those relating to finances.
Yet, clearly finances are a sticking issue, which was made all the more clear Monday when School Committee Chair Jennifer Ahearn and Vice Chair Eugene Nadeau released a statement over the department’s connect-ed system to parents, teachers and school staff.
The statement says the intent of the email is to share committee priorities in talks with the union and clear up misinformation and misconceptions over the committee’s position.
The committee’s opening offer was for a three-year contract with no wage increase in any of the years. Detailing costs associated with raises, the email reads, “We assumed, and still assume, that the WTU does not really believe the District or Warwick’s taxpayers could absorb such an increase, so we led with $0 as our starting point.”
Reached Tuesday, WTU President George Landrie had no comment on contract negotiations. In reference to the first mediation session, he said the mediator “is highly professional” and that reaching an agreement “will take time.”
Offering the committee’s point of view, and in what Ahearn called a “financial update” yesterday, the email says Warwick teachers are among the highest compensated in the state, “which is a testament to teacher performance, taxpayer support and consistent WTU strength.”
The email goes on to say this is a “pivotal year” for Warwick schools as the system selects a superintendent and deals with the issues around consolidation, including the closure of schools, re-districting and arriving at a “fair, affordable teacher contract which encourages excellence and rewards high-achievement.”
And while the email says the School Committee acknowledges a level of confidentiality in talks, it provides information on teacher pay and the budget that “is meant to inform the general public so that all may understand Warwick’s current contract framework and the economic realities of the budget the School Department has been assigned by the City.”
Specifics in the email – which were called “fuzzy math” by at least one caller to the Beacon, who also questioned Ahearn’s use of connect-ed to advocate her view – are that the union’s opening offer would cost Warwick taxpayers an additional $41 million over three years; that Rhode Island teacher salaries rank eighth highest out of 50 U.S. states; that Step 1 Warwick teachers are paid $42,022, the fourth highest out of 37 state districts; and that at $77,505, a Step 10 Warwick teacher is the sixth-highest paid in the state.
It further reads, Warwick teachers have averaged 2.9 percent annual increases between 2005-2015. It puts the average step increase of a Warwick teacher this year at $4,100.
On the budget side, the email points out that schools have been basically “level funded” for years and that 86 percent of the $159 million budget is allocated to professional compensation, leaving 14 percent to run and manage 23 schools. A 1 percent increase in teacher pay is put at $1.37 million.
Ahearn said yesterday she felt it appropriate to raise the issue of the initial committee offer because teachers at a school committee meeting last week disclosed it. She said the email did not get into language of contract proposals, and the information provided was strictly factual without expressing a personal point of view.
Asked whether she had shared the email with other committee members before it was sent, she said under the open meetings law that would have required a meeting. She said the policy is for the chair to represent the committee, and that is what she did.
Ahearn said the first mediation session was basically informational and establishing how further meetings will proceed. The next meeting is slated for Monday and another on Sept. 29. Because Ragosta will be out of state, Ahearn said a third session isn’t planned until Oct. 14.
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markyc
The School Committee should not be providing" some" information; let the contract talks take place-don't point fingers & state the mediator will be out of state. Just indicate that all sides are unable to meet after the Sept. 29th session until Oct. 14th. It is a "pivotal" year & if you let it get away from you the ADDITIONAL animosity will affect the school district, in a negative way, both to residents & outsiders. If a one percent increase represents $ 1.37 million, a three year cost to taxpayers of $ 41 million doesn't make sense unless these cost increases are on top of higher step levels due to longevity. From a public perspective, it appears that a timeframe for an approved contract will not take place until sometime around Halloween(how appropriate). This does not bode well for a school district that needs positive publicity. The School Committee should STOP complaining about being level funded. If they had performed their duties properly school consolidation should have occurred by now. Warwick is similar in size as Cranston(ALL school districts have special needs students, Warwick is not operating in a vacuum). The Warwick Teachers Union needs to accept the fact that in order for school consolidation to work, at both the elementary & secondary levels, reductions of MORE than the existing limit of twenty teacher layoffs are necessary.
School picnics & ice cream socials? Come on!
Thursday, September 17, 2015 Report this
JohnStark
Could not agree more with Markye, especially the last two sentences. It's really a Catch 22. The more negative publicity, the more people will flee the Warwick public schools, or choose not to move here in the first place. This results in a further reduction in enrollment, further bad pr, etc. A once proud school system continues to rust away.
Thursday, September 17, 2015 Report this
patientman
I'm surprised the teachers and parents haven't targeted a mayor and city council that sets their budget. The school committee is really middle management. Yes, consolidation should have happened sooner. It was the teachers and parents that pressured the committee to hold off. The WTU has to take some responsibility for this mess.
Friday, September 18, 2015 Report this
Justanidiot
The WTU is the victim in this. No one will suffer more.
Friday, September 18, 2015 Report this