Newport Public Schools
Newport Public Schools

The Teachers Association (TAN) of Newport was denied a request for a temporary restraining order on Thursday in Superior Court that would have blocked the Newport Schools from holding a “job selection process” while unfair labor practice charges and grievances are pending in relation to the displacement of 45 teachers and layoff of 16 others.

Jennifer Azevedo, deputy executive director of the National Education Association Rhode Island, parent of the Newport teachers’ union, said the court has scheduled a further evidentiary hearing for June 24.

The dispute between the union and school administration erupted over the last few weeks, when layoff and displacement notices were sent to more than 20 percent of the teaching workforce.

The union, Azevedo said, has filed four unfair labor charges and four grievances, all related to the dispute over layoffs and displacements.

The filings follow a vote of no confidence by the Teachers Association of Newport (TAN) last week. 

Union officials had said the teachers believe the administration violated the contract when Superintendent of Schools Colleen Burns Jermain unilaterally imposed a “reorganization” that resulted in the layoffs and displacements.

At issue for the teachers is a lack of communication, failure to honor seniority requirements and procedures included in the teachers’ contract, the elimination of jobs they see as critical for students, the lack of professional training opportunities.

Also at issue is the rise in multi-language learners, from some 5 percent of students in Newport a decade ago, to nearly 20 percent now, according to the Kids Count annual fact book. There are also state standards relative to MLL certified teachers.

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Newport teachers’ dispute headed to arbitration

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Newport teachers seeking to block job fair

The union that represents Newport’s teachers is seeking a temporary restraining order to block Newport schools from holding a job fair tomorrow (Thursday) while unfair labor charges and grievances are pending in relation to the displacement of 41 teachers and layoff of 16 others.

Newport Teachers’ Union to file grievances, unfair labor practices

The union that represents Newport’s teachers is expected to file multiple unfair labor practices and grievances in a dispute over layoffs and displacements of more than 20 percent of unionized teachers, according to teachers’ union president Jennifer Hole.

Dispute erupts over teacher layoff and displacements in Newport

A dispute over teacher layoffs and displacements, and the growing number of multi-language learners has evolved into a vote of no confidence by the Teachers Association of Newport (TAN) in Superintendent of Schools Colleen Burns Jermain and Director of Multi-Language Learners (MLL) Ronilee Mooney.

Frank Prosnitz brings to WhatsUpNewp several years in journalism, including 10 as editor of the Providence (RI) Business News and 14 years as a reporter and bureau manager at the Providence (RI) Journal. Prosnitz began his journalism career as a sportswriter at the Asbury Park (NJ) Press, moving to The News Tribune (Woodbridge, NJ), before joining the Providence Journal. Prosnitz hosts the Morning Show on WLBQ radio (Westerly), 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and It’s Your Business, also...

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