With the opening of school just over a month away, the dispute between the Newport teachers’ union and school administration is still unsettled, with a third and perhaps final day of mediation scheduled for Tuesday, according to Jennifer Azevedo, deputy director of the National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI).
“We are scheduled for a third day of mediation on July 30. No other dates scheduled (for anything) after that,” Azevedo says.
At issue is the layoff of 16 teachers and displacement of 45 others, nearly 20 percent of the teacher workforce, over what school administrators have labeled a “district reorganization,” centered around a growing multi-language learner population in city schools.
School Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain says the reorganization is the result of a sharp rise in multi-language learners in the district from what the Kids Count Fact Book says was 5 percent of students in Newport a decade ago to nearly 20 percent now. There are also state standards relative to MLL certified teachers.
Mediation was chosen over arbitration as a potential pathway to resolving the issue, after the NEARI and Teachers Association of Newport (TAN) filed for a restraining order, grievances, unfair labor practices, and arbitration.
The teachers’ union believes that its contract requires the school administration to consult the union before implementing any system-wide reorganization. At issue, Azevedo says, is the teachers demand to have a say in what the Newport “schools will look like for next year … We want the superintendent to have a conversation with the union about the plan.”
TAN had previously characterized the issues as 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, and the lack of professional training opportunities.
Associate Supreme Court Justice Frank Flaherty is serving as mediator.
