A mediation session, the third, between Newport teachers and the administration over the layoff and displacement of 20 percent of the school faculty, ended without agreement on Tuesday. It had been characterized as perhaps the final mediation session in an effort to resolve the dispute.
“We were unable to reach agreement yesterday (Tuesday),” said Jennifer Azevedo, deputy director of the National Education Association Rhode Island (NEARI). “The union is still discussing our next steps and options.”
On Wednesday, School Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain said the two sides came close to agreement but fell short. She expects talks to continue.
Read More – WUN-ON-ONE: A conversation with Newport School Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain
This was the third mediation session after teachers had filed unfair labor practice charges, grievances, and considered arbitration. Associate Supreme Court Justice Frank Flaherty has been serving as mediator.
At issue is the layoff of 19 teachers and displacement of 45 others over what school administrators have labeled a “district reorganization,” centered around a growing multi-language learner population in city schools.
Jermain said jobs have been found for all but six of the 64 teachers and was hopeful of finding positions for the remaining six. She doesn’t expect the dispute to disrupt the opening of schools, just a few weeks away.
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.