Boston Teachers Union e-Bulletin #36 (2009-10),  04/13/10

Good Day.  There is much going on.

            Yesterday the e-bulletin summarized a document
that announced changes in teaching and learning conditions that the superintendent wants to impose on all teachers and paras in Turnaround Schools. The superintendent's proposal is counterproductive and harmful--and will not help the children in our schools. It will not further education. And it has alienated the very people the superintendent needs to 'turn around' our schools.

           Under the new state law, the superintendent's proposal, after a period of negotiations, will go--if unresolved--to what amounts to a bank of arbitrators for resolution. The BTU will do all it can, given the confines of an unjust law, to negotiate a better proposal than the superintendent has proposed. These negotiations start shortly and will play out over the next few months. The superintendent's notion that her proposals (e.g. to cut pay, increase SEI class size, and reduce P&D periods) will improve teaching and learning is counter-intuitive. The Globe had an article this AM on her proposals, and the AFTMA, our parent organization, has taken the position that, in light of the lack of cooperation, the BTU and other MA teacher unions are receiving, no AFTMA-affiliated union will agree to support the RTTT application in Round II. The BTU will exhaust all remedies as we push back against the superintendent's heavy-handed proposals.

All of this said, this above issue will take time, and will play out over the next few months. In the meantime--and despite the serious disagreements mentioned above--the negotiating team and the school department have worked on three other issues, each of which, the BTU negotiating team believes, will help our members.

Each of the below issues is independent from the above. Long story short, we may have vehement disagreements on some issues, but there are other areas where it is in our best interest to come to an agreement.

            Each of these 'other' issues is detailed below and found on our web page. Each proposal has been endorsed by our negotiating team and requires a membership vote for adoption. The vote is Wednesday, 4/14.

            Issue #1. Assignment Rights of Staff Who Leave Turnaround Schools.

            Background : The new State Ed Reform law gives the school department, after an approximate 5-month  window period of 'input,' the ultimate right to evict or excess at least 50% of the staff in as many of the 12 so-called failing schools as the department so chooses. While we object to this provision, it is the new law, and we are forced to work within it. Making matters worse, the state has given the school department 'expedited' status, which we have formally questioned. In either case, expedited or not, the school department can excess people pretty much at will at some point between June and September--well after the normal assignment processes (transfer and excessing) transpire. This is problematic for our membership, as most of the vacancies will be long gone by that time, leaving perhaps hundreds of our excessed members with little or no choice of available vacancies . To say the least, this would have been a major problem for our members.

            Our agreement extends the timelines to give all staff in Turnaround Schools the opportunity to take advantage of both the standard transfer and excessing processes. Staff in Turnaround School,s who wish to stay in their schoo,l will be able to receive an answer in time to take advantage of the standard reassignment processes. The agreement also creates a new reassignment process, called a comeback pool , to give staff another opportunity for choice in cases where there may be inadequate vacancies. All told, staff enjoys protection and choice in a timely fashion. And the union has reserved all rights to enforce all due process protections.

            Issue # 2: Para Excessing and Transfer rights

            Background: The Para contract has, for years, had language authorizing twin reassignment procedures--excess pools and a transfer process. Only excess pools were in operation, however, as a mutually agreed-upon trade off had been in effect. The proposal defines a new transfer process and amends the current para excess pool procedure. Under the new proposal, both para processes now will be identical to the teacher processes.

            Our agreement gives paras more choice than before by offering a newly-designed transfer process. The agreement also changes slightly the excess pool operation, placing it in line with the teacher process. The new transfer process will allow some 800 paraprofessionals an assignment choice they did not formerly have. All paras will now be able to bid on up to five vacancies for transfer. All due process and other assignment rights were protected.

            Issue # 3: Opening of Year

            Background : The first student day of school next year (2010-2011) falls on Rosh Hashanah, a Jewish Holy Day. The school department and the union each received multiple requests from parents and staff to consider changing the opening schedule so as to avoid this conflict. Both parties sat down and looked at options, primarily starting school a week earlier or a week later. There was little sentiment to do either. That left the first week of school as the only time to tinker with.

            After much discussion, the school department and the union agreed on a tentative proposal to use Day I, Tuesday, as a day in which both parties would share time. The staff  would get three hours for room organization and so on, and the school department would get three hours for PD. School for students would start on Day 2, Wednesday. The change would allow Jewish students and teachers to be present for Day 1 of the student school year.

The proposal deletes a full day of school, the equivalent of six hours from our work year, three belonging to staff and three belonging to the school department. A staff member can make up the three hours anytime from August 6 through September 10, merely by stating that he/she was in the building after work hours. We understand that most, if not all, staff put that much extra time anyway, so this is no added work at all. The remaining three hours are added to the other 18 hours of PD, and are determined, accordingly, by staff vote. At the end of the day, there is a net loss of three hours in the teacher/para work year.

Sincerely,

Richard Stutman
BTU President

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