Schools

UPDATED: Superintendent: Mediator's Illness Cancels Contract Negotiation Meeting

Parents are reporting that some teachers will not advise clubs at Hemenway Elementary and starting Thursday some high school clubs, according to students and parents, will not meet, due to a lack of a contract.

UPDATED at 6:55 p.m. with comments from School Committee Chair.

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UPDATED at 4:22 p.m. with comments from Framingham Teachers Association President.

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Contract negotiations with the Framingham Teachers Association have been tense the past couple of months.

Find out what's happening in Framinghamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Teachers have expressed a frustration with the process and attended a School Committee meeting in December by the hundreds.

Teachers have been without a contract since Aug. 31. And the situation got even more tense on Monday, when a scheduled meeting betwen the two sides was cancelled.

Tuesday night at the Framingham School Committee meeting, Framingham Superintendent of Schools Stacy Scott said "We had two meetings scheduled in January where we were working with a mediator to continue the mediation process. This week’s meeting, unfortunately, was cancelled. Our mediator was ill and asked us to cancel the meeting. We had a very productive session in December—an eight hour meeting. Our sessions have been increasingly productive, so (we were) naturally disappointed at this interruption in the process. But, given the critical role of the mediator, it seemed obvious and wise (and with the advice of Counsel) that we should wait for the next session to continue to move our discussion forward."

Framingham Teachers Association President Sam Miskin told Framingham Patch Wednesday afternoon "We understand the mediator is sick, but there is lots of work that still needs to be done. We offered to meet without the mediator and they said no. We really feel like there is a lot to do. There are so many  unsettled items. We feel like we are losing time."

Scott in a written statement said "Hopefully, we are moving to the closing elements of our conversation and mediation. As we are getting into the final, very sensitive issues and concerns, the facilitation of the mediator is all the more vital."

Miskin said today "one of the major issues is class size. We submitted a proposal for class size. We are still waiting for a proposal on class size from the School Committee since last February. Losing another day of mediation is not what was needed. We could have met and discussed this important issue. We would have been glad to just meet with the other side to exchange proposals on the issue."

Miskin said every community adjacent to Framingham, except Marlborough, and every community the state considers comparable to Framingham, except one, has language in their contract about maximum class size on class size numbers. Framingham has no language and no proposal from the School Committee, said Miskin.

School Committee Chair David Miles said the School Committee has a class size policy.

In the mean time, several teachers have stopped assisting students after school and a few have opted to cancel clubs and organizations instead of staying afterschool to advise students. The reason - they write in letters to parents - is a lack of a contract. (see attached).

Parents from Hemeneway Elementary School were sent home a letter about the "work to rule" message from teachers in regards to Math Club just before the holiday break. (see attached).

Several high school parents this week have also contacted Framingham Patch to say starting tomorrow, Jan. 10 some after school clubs will not meet.

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On Dec. 11, the

Miskin said following the cancellation of Monday's meeting, the Association felt it had no choice but to institute the "work to rule."

This means teachers can opt not to volunteer to work with students before or after school with homework help or as an adviser to a club or organization.

"Based on what happened Monday, we felt we were back to where we were a year ago. We feel the School Committee is playing games with us," said Miskin.

"After Monday, we decided to put more pressure on the School Committee. It's a crucial time - 90 days into the school year - unfortunately, they left us with no other choice. We regret the fact that this action is hurting students. But we feel we have been disrespected by the School Committee for more than a calendar year. ... We are frustrated that we haven't settled this and worked on it for a year, without much ground being made."

"This is ludicrous. It truly is not true," said Miles.

Miles said negotiating a contract is the School Committee's top priority. The next scheduled meeting is Jan. 24.

Miles said he was notified yesterday of Monday's cancelled meeting. He said the School Committee does not attend the negotiations or the mediation sessions. They do have a representative assigned to them - School Committee member Carol Phalen.

Miles said the School Committee was given an update on negotiations in a closed session meeting before Tuesday's public School Committee meeting. He said the School Committee has left the negotiations in the hands of its legal counsel and the superintendent.

"We look forward to moving forward in the process," said Scott Tuesday night.

The School Committee made no public statement at its meeting Tuesday night.

"We have a scheduled meeting at the end of the month and, hopefully, that will bring us to conclusion. I know there is lots of concern about our ability to bring the process to closure. Of course, we are eager to do so. We will keep you up to date on the progress we are able to make," said Scott Tuesday night and again in a statement issued Wednesday.


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