Where the Confidence is Truly Lacking

... is referenced, in fact, by National Education Association Executive Director John I. Wilson in yesterday's 7 to 7 ProJo News Blog report about the teachers' "no confidence" vote in the School Committee.

Our goals are basic and universal - to protect the rights of employees and defend quality public education.

Undoubtedly, most individual teachers in the East Providence school system do their best to deliver "quality education". If, however, this were a goal shared by Mr. Wilson's organization, wouldn't there be some mention of student achievement or teacher merit in the contact [PDF] negotiated by the East Providence affiliate of the NEA with the City of East Providence? In fact, that contract is bereft of all such language or any mention of the provision of a quality public education to East Providence children.

It is much easier to have confidence in a purported goal when it is memorialized in writing instead of verbally trotted out on certain very limited occasions.

A Press Release to Emulate

East Providence School Committee Chairman Anthony Carcieri has issued a press release on which other elected representatives throughout the state should take notes:

On being informed that NEA has voted "no confidence" in the East Providence School Committee, its Chair, Anthony Carcieri, said this.

"So what’s new? No union is going to give a big vote of confidence when they're told they have to contribute to their health insurance. It's unfortunate, but it's the way of the world. That all happened six months ago. We've moved past it. We're bringing technology to our students for the first time in the Fall. Our Vocational School is launching innovative new programs that will catapult our students forward. We're pushing forward a revolutionary initiative to raise the quality of special education in East Providence to World Class standards. These are just some of the things we’ve accomplished in the last six months, as we are bringing the school system back from the brink of bankruptcy.

What has NEA done in the last six months?

They put on red shirts and disrupt School Committee meetings. They say they want to bargain, but they never schedule a meeting. They try to stop innovation. They demand that we raise taxes and go deeper in debt.

The East Providence Schools will be a magnet for students from other communities within the next few years. We will be a magnet for creative energetic teachers who put kids first. We don't need teachers who want to spend their time parading around like the Red Army. We need teachers who will help us to prepare our kids to deal with an increasingly competitive world.

We're told that NEA has threatened to tell their members to leave our school system. Any teacher who doesn't want to be a part of what's going on here should do what NEA says. We're building to be the best. We're putting the students first. Any teacher who doesn't want to be a part of that should follow NEA's direction.

Remember, we pay our teachers better than 90% of the school teachers in America. The teachers' union just can’t get over the fact that we had to retrench a little bit in January so we could pay their salaries in June. This is the time to focus on delivering the best education for our students without breaking the backs of our taxpayers. It's time to get over it. We have a lot of work left to do to raise the performance of our schools. We have to do a better job for the kids. That's our focus, and it’s the focus of most of our teachers."

Will Ricci: East Providence GOP Puts Its State Reps "On Notice"

The following resolution was passed by unanimous vote of the East Providence Republican City Committee at its meeting on Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Copies of this resolution will be mailed to all state senators and representatives in East Providence.

The East Providence Republican City Committee strongly condemns the fiscally irresponsible and grossly short-sighted actions of East Providence's two State Senators, Daniel DaPonte and Frank DeVall, for their recent votes in support of Rhode Island State Senate Bill 0713, "An Act Relating to Labor and Labor Relations — Certified School Teachers Arbitration."

S-0713, if enacted, would change the law so that the terms of any expired teacher contract in Rhode Island would remain in effect until a new collective bargaining agreement had been ratified. This may seem harmless or even helpful to some, but in fact, it is uniquely dangerous. This legislation would give already very powerful public sector unions even more power to wield over us. It would strip away one of the very few weapons which school committees in Rhode Island have left at their disposal to try to curb out-of-control spending in the face of massive budget deficits. It would specifically give teachers unions throughout the state, the ability to effectively extend their contracts indefinitely, with absolutely no incentive or need to ever renegotiate new terms when their contract is up for renewal — at levels which may be more reasonable for struggling taxpayers.

The effect on local taxpayers and homeowners would truly be disastrous. Given the favorable nature of many current contracts, the unions could run forever with those contracts without local governments having any ability to modify the terms, even after the contracts have "run out" — leaving the only truly viable alternative to be municipal bankruptcy. Without the ability to rein in costly contracts, which account for most city spending and the overwhelming majority of the school department budget (87% in East Providence), the impact of this bill on residents may well include any or all of the following: massive annual property tax increases; mass layoffs of teachers, administrators, and municipal employees; multiple school closures; reduction or elimination of school sports and after school programs; and finally, the very real possibility of bankruptcy. This is "a clear and present danger" to the fiscal health of our city. For the sake of our city, we must not let this happen!

According to S-0713 co-sponsor Sen. Charles Levesque (D-Bristol/Portsmouth), the introduction of the bill was prompted by the contract stalemate between the East Providence School Committee and the East Providence Education Association. As a result of the teachers union's unwillingness to make fair and reasonable concessions after their extremely generous contract expired last October — in an attempt to put a dent into the school department's over $9 million anticipated budget deficit — the School Committee was forced to unilaterally implement a 5% pay raise rollback and enforce a 20% health insurance co-pay and other cost savings measures. This action alone has already saved the taxpayers of East Providence over $3 million so far; thus averting a roughly 10% property tax increase (about $300) for the average East Providence homeowner.

In light of this, we are particularly disturbed that freshman East Providence State Sen. Frank DeVall (Dist. 18) not only voted “in favor” of this fiscally irresponsible bill, but according to official records, even “seconded” passage of S-0713. Additionally, he spoke in favor of S-0713 right from the Senate floor! What a disgrace!

As S-0713 has now been sent to the Rhode Island House for consideration, we strongly encourage residents to immediately contact their state representatives to urge the defeat of its House companion bill, H-5762. Furthermore, the East Providence Republican City Committee hereby puts any and all state representatives in East Providence — regardless of political affiliation — ON NOTICE. A vote in favor of H-5762, will rightfully be considered to be a vote against the taxpayers of the City of East Providence and the people of the State of Rhode Island. As such, we will make it our goal to target for political elimination any East Providence legislator in the 2010 election cycle who votes in favor of this dangerous legislation. WE ARE WATCHING YOU.

Robert S. Carlin, Jr.
Chairman, East Providence Republican City Committee
Media Contact: Bob Carlin at chair@epgop.org

Will Ricci is Treasurer of the East Providence Republican City Committee, a member of the Executive Committee of the Rhode Island Republican Party, and Editor of The Ocean State Republican blog.

RISC Winter Meeting: EPTA's William Murphy Encourages Engaged Citizens

The second speech at the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition's Winter Meeting came from the East Providence Taxpayers Association's William Murphy, who focused on local-level movement building (stream entire speech):

• RISC Chairman Harry Staley's introduction: stream, download
• Murphy's opening remarks: stream, download
• We must focus on our effectiveness as citizens: stream, download
• Step 1 is to formulate our goals clearly: stream, download
• Step 2 is to "offer the average citizen opportunity to constructdively participate," because "citizens have abandoned the public square": stream, download
• The reform movement needs to strengthen local taxpayer groups — "we are learning in East Providence that shining the light on the process makes a difference": stream, download
• Describing the situation in East Providence and suggesting that the solution lies elsewhere than on taxpayers' backs, but that taxpayers must be more involved: stream, download
• Closing remarks: stream, download

Pelting with Rose Petals: The EP Ed Assoc Ad About Mayor Larisa

For the record, if the RI Ethics Commission ever finds me "guilty" of pro bono helping someone get due process in a civil proceeding, I sincerely hope that the East Providence Education Association will take out several ads for me, too.

Administering Results for Negotiations

It would go too far to speculate that this sort of thing is widespread:

Statewide testing procedures were violated at Whiteknact Elementary School last October when at least 14 third graders were given extra time, the state Department of Education has concluded.

And now school officials are looking into whether another violation occurred when the standardized tests for students in grades 3 through 5 were administered at Whiteknact. ...

Barbosa also said her daughter, also a Whiteknact student, told her that the person who administered the standardized tests in her classroom prompted the students with answers. Barbosa did not disclose what grade her daughter is in Tuesday night and she could not be reached Wednesday morning.

Students' success on these tests has a direct bearing on contract negotiations, and especially given other tactics of unionized workforces, it's reasonable to suggest that perhaps some third party should direct and supervise the test taking.

East Providence Meets the March 1 Deadline

... to issue teacher layoff notices.

Tonight, the School Committee voted 4-1 to approve the recommendation by Superintendent Mario Cirillo to send lay off notices, effective September 1, to fifty five teachers.

Most of the time, in most cities and towns, only a fraction of those receiving notices are actually laid off. School Committee member Steve Stantos emphasized

This is not something anybody wants to do. ... There are some excellent teachers on this list. Hopefully, we do get them back.

But by way of pointing out that this may well not happen, Director of Human Resources Lonnie Barham observed out that "we have not had this kind of fiscal situation either".

One final point. Upon being asked the criteria for the layoffs, Mr. Barham replied, "Least senior teachers". It was noted that this was pursuant to the terms of the (expired) contract.

[H/T Will Ricci at Ocean State Republican for breaking this news late Sunday night.]

Labor Relations in the Dark

According to a press release from the Ocean State Policy Research Institute (printed in full in the extended entry), without public discussion, the Rhode Island Labor Relations Board has declined to consider the East Providence School Committee's complaint against the union:

"The State Labor Relations Board reported it has dismissed unfair labor practice charges filed by the East Providence School Committee against the teacher's union alleging failure to bargain in good faith (ULP-5933)," said William Felkner, president of OSPRI, "but we learned this after hearing the news that they did issue a complaint based on the same circumstances filed as charges by the union against the school committee (ULP-5946)."

As background, complaints by the Board reflect that the charges have jurisdictional substance and may give rise to a finding of unfair labor practice. They are not meant to reflect on the merits of the case but lead to a formal hearing to weigh those merits.

The extensive submission of the School Committee details compromises offered by management and intransigence by the Union in attempting to set conditions for negotiation in over 3 pages of documentation for the basis of the charges. These are only allegations that have not (and apparently will not) have a hearing, but it is remarkable that the Board should have thought such serious charges if true, did not amount to a refusal to bargain.

Yet, the board did find evidentiary circumstance that may constitute bad faith on the part of the school committee based on a complaint consisting of 2 sentences that quote the school committee as saying that "no substantive discussion had occurred []." This is not to say that a charge cannot be brief and to the point, but the mere fact that no discussion has occurred offers no evidence whatsoever as to what party is responsible for the breakdown in negotiations and who is really refusing to come to the table. Both sides essentially alleged that the other wouldn't come to the table, yet one set of charges was sustained and the other dismissed.

"How the SLRB made this decision is puzzling and will remain so because the decisions are made behind closed doors," said Felkner. "Why these decisions are made outside of public view is one more mystery."

In the executive-session-discussed view of the Labor Relations Board, all of the discord in East Providence is apparently the fault of either unfair practices on the school committee side or, well, the fickleness of nature, I suppose. The other party to negotiations may play by no-holds-barred rules.

OSPRI is kind to suggest only the "appearance" of bias.

President of the Ocean State Policy Research Institute today cautioned that the lack of transparency in State Labor Relations Board operations is leading fair-minded citizens to question whether the board is biased.

"The State Labor Relations Board reported it has dismissed unfair labor practice charges filed by the East Providence School Committee against the teacher's union alleging failure to bargain in good faith (ULP-5933)," said William Felkner, president of OSPRI, "but we learned this after hearing the news that they did issue a complaint based on the same circumstances filed as charges by the union against the school committee (ULP-5946)."

As background, complaints by the Board reflect that the charges have jurisdictional substance and may give rise to a finding of unfair labor practice. They are not meant to reflect on the merits of the case but lead to a formal hearing to weigh those merits.

The extensive submission of the School Committee details compromises offered by management and intransigence by the Union in attempting to set conditions for negotiation in over 3 pages of documentation for the basis of the charges. These are only allegations that have not (and apparently will not) have a hearing, but it is remarkable that the Board should have thought such serious charges if true, did not amount to a refusal to bargain.

Yet, the board did find evidentiary circumstance that may constitute bad faith on the part of the school committee based on a complaint consisting of 2 sentences that quote the school committee as saying that "no substantive discussion had occurred []." This is not to say that a charge cannot be brief and to the point, but the mere fact that no discussion has occurred offers no evidence whatsoever as to what party is responsible for the breakdown in negotiations and who is really refusing to come to the table. Both sides essentially alleged that the other wouldn't come to the table, yet one set of charges was sustained and the other dismissed.

"How the SLRB made this decision is puzzling and will remain so because the decisions are made behind closed doors," said Felkner. "Why these decisions are made outside of public view is one more mystery."

In the vast majority of cases, these SLRB "executive sessions" do not contemplate confidential personal information or engage in "investigative" function. Rather, they generally constitute the board debating law and policy analysis applied to alleged facts and pleadings that are themselves public records.

The apparent use of the 'civil investigations' exemption to the open meetings law (RIGL 42-46-4 et seq) seems potentially a violation of the letter of the law and is certainly a violation of its spirit.

Furthermore, charges and pleadings, which are by rule and statute public documents, are not posted on the board's web site. While not illegal, this omission is more evidence of an opacity that frustrates the public's ability to track and understand the basis for "administrative dismissals" of charges such as those filed by the East Providence School Committee.

"Without any real explanation of why the Board dismissed the School Committee's charges, OSPRI cannot charge that the Board is biased," Felkner continued. "But, if the State Labor Relations Board wishes to allay growing suspicions that it is biased towards labor, records and process should be made accessible, the rational for administrative dismissals should be explained in each case, and any claim of exemption from open meetings law should be justified on both legal and prudential grounds on a case by case basis before erecting the shield of executive session."

Savage on Education, the Romantic Versus the Paradigmatist

East Providence Representative John Savage (R-East Providence) describes a philosophy of public education that is fundamentally self-contradictory. On one hand, there was the system back in the day — which cultivated those Americans who reached for the moon, invented the computer-driven society, and built history's most dynamic economy:

WHEN I BEGAN teaching in the late '60s, we had pens, pencils, crayons and rulers to give to the children. The school would supply the paper for their assignments. Our textbooks would be reasonably current, and some might even be new. Maps and globes would be in our classrooms for referencing.

Sitting at their desks would be some 30 to 35 sixth-grade students, three or four of whom spoke no English. I, unfortunately, spoke no Portuguese. I did take a six-week course to learn some basic phrases (now forgotten), but to communicate with these children was very difficult. There would also always be a student or two in the class who had a severe learning disability. Together in that classroom for six, seven or eight lessons a day, the 36 of us would all work very hard.

My salary was a modest one (all my friends who graduated with me from college were earning more, and they didn't even have to return to college for night courses). My benefits were good. At times I did consider changing careers, but I loved what I did so I stayed. I knew I would always be lower-middle-class, and that was okay.

On the other hand, there is the current system — in which specialized services for individual students, smaller class sizes, and an emphasis on "attracting and retaining talented, motivated, and highly skilled professionals" are crowding out other expenses. Savage suggests that it is "the educational process itself" that is "driving up the cost of education," but that skirts the value judgment between the before and the after. Would Savage characterize his early years in the field as an era of endemic failure? I suspect not. Somewhere, he leaves off the lessons of his technicolor past for the demands of a digital present.

I'd propose that the current system of generating and remunerating teachers is nowhere near adequate for ensuring talent, motivation, and skill. Indeed, unionization is crushing those spirits from the profession. Talent is hardly a consideration against seniority. A one-size-fits-all career path is clearly stultifying of motivation.

Savage ends with the despairing question of whether we can afford the "free public education [that] is necessary for the maintenance of a functioning democracy." In a full and honest review of his experience as a teacher, perhaps he'd be able to identify the assumptions that make the answer "no" and the opportunities that would make it "yes." Not a lot of folks in the business can resist the natural inclination to turn away from the conclusions toward which that project would lead.

More Official and Public Comment from the East Providence School Committee Meeting

Here is one financial measure of exactly how dire a situation in the city is in.

Suprintendent Mario Cirillo praises the level of professionalism and effort exhibited by East Providence school system personnel...

...and outlines a plan for administrative restructuring that he believes will eventually save the city $400,000 per year, while helping to create a culture of achievement within the schools.

East Providence Education Association President Valerie Lawson argues that the school committee holding the meeting at City Hall, instead of at the high school, is an attempt to limit public participation, and that it was "the reaction of the school committee" that brought about the early retirement proposal made by the union.

Two East Providence teachers discuss their pride in their profession.

Teacher Richard Martin calls for a search for middle ground (warning: North Providence residents may want to skip this one).

Bill Murphy (aka "the good Bill Murphy", from the East Providence Taxpayers Association) discusses the negotiations process, open or otherwise.

East Providence resident Jack Fahey challenges the idea that there is something inherently wrong with open negotiations, and brings some discussion of how things are done in other states to the table.

Another East Providence resident lays out the the dilemma that many parents, in East Providence and across Rhode Island, are facing.

In the most contentious moment of the evening, when former school committee member Mildred Morris takes it upon herself to berate the current school committee, an audience member challenges the idea that past school committee members bear no responsibility for the current problems.

East Providence teacher Mary Texeira once again stakes out a tough, direct, but willing to compromise position.

East Providence's Half-Million Dollar Compromise

Gina Macris' story in today's Projo on a cost-saving early retirement plan for teachers in East Providence...

During the meeting, the committee approved the retirement of 15 veteran teachers who chose a midyear buyout, saving what school officials estimated will be nearly $1 million in salaries and benefits by the end of the fiscal year, Oct. 31....

With the retiring teachers’ last day expected on Friday, the School Department plans to replace them with retired teachers at substitute pay for the remainder of the school year. It expects to hire replacements in the fall at significantly less than the retiring teachers have been paid.

Actually, most of the teachers who are officially retiring have volunteered to stay on as long-term substitutes, but because of state law have to be away from their jobs for 30 days before they can be re-hired. In return for retiring mid-year, the retirees will be allowed to participate in the healthcare plan specified in the expired 2005-2008 contract.

Already-retired former teachers will be used to fill the 30 day gap.

East Providence expects to realize an immediate $400,000 to $500,000 savings with this plan. Add to this the fact that this proposal was brought to the school system by the union (although union President Valerie Lawson didn't seem too happy about the school committee accepting the offer), and it seems like we may have an honest-to-God compromise benefiting all sides on our hands here.

Click here for the audio of East Providence School Department Director of Human Resources Lonnie Barham's official description of the plan.

Not the Sideshow

This is being treated as a secondary matter, but in the long range it might be the more significant thread coming loose in East Providence:

The state Labor Relations Board has decided to hold a formal hearing on a complaint by the city teachers union that the School Committee violated Rhode Island labor law by insisting on public negotiations as a prior condition for collective bargaining.

The charge was filed in early December by the East Providence Education Association. Yesterday, the board confirmed that it has issued its own complaint, which says that the school board's insistence on public talks resulted in "mere surface bargaining," a violation of the duty to bargain in good faith.

The board's complaint is not a finding but its own statement of the issue, which will go to a formal hearing Aug. 25.

I'm not sure where the distinction lies between the board's having an official "complaint" and having come to a "finding," but the idea that the only fair negotiations are those that happen outside of the view of the people who ultimately pay for the results is another bit of insanity to add to Rhode Island's madness. If this complaint is found to have merit, the lesson will be that "fairness" is a measurement of the unions' leverage, rather than a two-sided balance.

Community Beyond Outreach?

An East Providence school committee member in attendance at the Ed Achorn talk gave me a copy of a flier that's going to homes across the town:

Inside are a few union talking points presented in a "true or false" format, my favorite of which is the following (emphasis in original):

It's the teachers' fault that the district is running a deficit.

FALSE. The district has been mismanaged for years, with annual budget deficits for the last 10 years in a row. The City Council and School Committee have made decisions that have worsened the situation rather than resolved it.

What makes this noteworthy is that the single greatest example of mismanagement has been in giving away too much to the union. In some of their more stumbling rhetoric of recent months, even union officials have tacitly acknowledged this point.

But there's reason for optimism: The back of the pamphlet provides contact information for all of the school committee and town council members, and at least according to the one who gave me the flier, every single response that it has generated was supportive of the school committee, not the union.

One must wonder whether the teachers' union in East Providence, and perhaps elsewhere, has squandered its support among the community at large.

East Providence Teachers' Union Denied

The East Providence School Committee just won the day in court — at least to the extent that the judge denied the union's request for an injunction against the imposition of the School Committee's remuneration change.

Decision: PDF
School Committee Press Release: PDF

Qualifying the First Amendment?

When East Providence taxpayer Tom Riley spoke during the Public Comment segment of Tuesday's School Committee meeting, members of the NEA and other unions from around the state boo'ed and shouted him down. (It should be noted that Mr. Riley would, nevertheless, have carried on with his remarks but the School Committee determined that the volume and ferocity of this reaction required the termination of the meeting.) Asked later about Mr. Riley's rights of free speech, the East Providence teachers union asserted that a lack of accuracy on the part of the speaker was the reason for this coarse and abusive interruption.

Parenthetically, a list of the inaccuracies in Mr. Riley's comments would be appreciated. Does someone, anyone dispute, for example, that the selection process for layoffs, if they occur, will be "last hired, first fired" as asserted by Mr. Riley?

The First Amendment to the American Constitution provides the legal definition of free speech.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

So the teachers union proposes to amend, formally or informally, this definition to include accuracy of content?

If this is so, my concern is not for Mr. Riley. His comments Tuesday night would have easily passed such a new and more stringent standard. My concern would be for the speechifying ability of the teachers union. This would be endangered on two fronts as a result of the proposed new standard. Firstly, of course, the union has made statements which are erroneous to the point of absurdity. Secondly, however, this new standard would almost certain preclude what appears to be a communication staple of the East Providence teachers union: statements which include incomplete facts or facts presented out of context.

On that basis, other than pure statements of opinion and simple, unadorned requests, wouldn't the East Providence teachers union only silence itself with its proposed modification to the definition of free speech?

Taxpayer Group's Message Spun

The East Providence Taxpayer Association is getting a lot of well deserved press, lately. The dispute in their city is big news, and the EPTA is keeping a consistent and measured message out there. From today's Providence Journal:

Standing in the cold outside East Providence High School yesterday, a lone spokesman for the East Providence Taxpayer Association said public school teachers are being misinformed by their union in their ongoing dispute with the School Committee.

"We are pleading with our teachers not to let an out-of-touch leadership lead them off a cliff that perhaps will result in layoffs, missed payrolls or even the closing of the school system," William Murphy said. "Solidarity is little consolation at the bottom of the abyss."

In a statement, the association said one misconception is that the teachers were "attacked and victimized" by the School Committee when it decided earlier this month to reduce the teachers' salaries by nearly 5 percent and force the educators to pay 20 percent of their health insurance costs. The taxpayers group said the changes were "in no way motivated by the ill will toward teachers."

Of course, it's worth a moment's note that the Projo's headline for the report amounts to spin: "Taxpayer group says teachers misinformed." The group's tempered plea thus becomes an insult. Yesterday's Projo headline was "Taxpayer group criticizes teachers." Funny how the passive voice comes and goes. It would not have been grammatically unusual for the paper to have gone with "Teachers' Behavior Criticized."

The phrasing is a matter of interest within the belly of Alisha Pina's Friday report, as well:

The audience erupted in cheers when union President Valarie Lawson told the committee it should accept a recent arbitrator's recommendation for a new contract, which included a wage freeze this year and teachers' contributions to health care that would increase to 15 percent — 5 percent this year and 10 percent next year — within three years. She said the teachers were willing and simply want to get back to the business of teaching.

The rest of the meeting was dominated by boos and outbursts, most of which were directed at School Committee Chairman Anthony A. Carcieri.

Note that it was the entire audience — not the teachers and their unionist allies — who applauded the union president and that the union supporters are taken entirely out of the sentence about "boos and outbursts." Teachers of English and writing take note: These are some illustrative examples of bias's insertion into ostensibly neutral reportage.

Hummel and the Union Trio

Jim Hummel, filling in for Dan Yorke, has had three unionists on the program since 3:00, and as I've pulled up flooring and cleaned my jobsite, I've been itching to make three points:

1. Regarding the teachers'/union's behavior at the latest School Committee meeting, NEA lawyer John Liedecker pointed out that the police had said, on the radio, that at no point did the evening approach a riot. Is that the standard, now? Appropriate behavior on one side of the line and rioting on the other?

2. Local East Providence union President Valerie Lawson stated that all they want is for the School Committee to return to the negotiating table and try to get the two sides' numbers a little closer. As we've also experienced in Tiverton, this ignores the reality of what the School Committees have begun to do — namely, to tell the teachers exactly how much there is available and to move from there. In other words, there is no hidden pile of gold. Either the teachers are refusing to believe reality, or they are, in effect, demanding that the districts cut broad swaths of other spending, even though teacher pay and benefits have been draining other areas of expenditure for years.

3. I want to give a quick tip of the hat to the blogging revolution. The union trio had been claiming that the heckling was all about School Committee Chairman Anthony Carcieri's microphone misuse. When Jim Hummel played my clip of the teachers' shouting down taxpayer Tom Riley, Ms. Lawson could only stumble through a response until Mr. Liedecker jumped in and smoothly changed the subject.

Beware entrenched powers and special interests: Bloggers are out there!

The Locus of Disruption

Andrew's call in to the Matt Allen show, last night, turned into a longer form interview about the East Providence School Committee meeting. Stream by clicking here, or download it.

To the conversation about Anthony Carcieri's microphone volume (or lack thereof), I'd add my impression that Carcieri fully anticipated a disruptive atmosphere and was focused on moving through the agenda, without expectation that the audience would be following along — or would be able to do so, given audience noise. Consequently, he didn't bother much ensuring audibility beyond the dais.

That said, from my limited experience in Tiverton, the tone that the union set in East Providence was pretty standard for negotiation-season school committee meetings. The "can't hear you" heckles are a mainstay — anything to rattle the small-time public officials.

Indeed, if you listen to the second snip of audio from the meeting, somebody shouted that very phrase — amid a drown-out wave of boos — almost before Carcieri'd said a single word.

A Disconnect About Motive and Cause

East Providence is looking at budget deficits of over $4m per year for 2008 and 2009 and some scary tax increases if spending on the largest portion of their budget - personnel costs - is not brought into line.

This fact seems inexplicably missing from too many statements by the teachers union. These include but are not limited to:

They've set this thing up, they've run this city into the ground just with the sole purpose of trying to knock down this union.

and

They intentionally cut their budget short. There's a 1% increase in the school budget this year. They knew that wasn't enough.

Does the teachers union honestly think that the city of East Providence has not hit a financial wall? Or could it be that something must be said to justify the demand for ever-increasing compensation even in a bad economy, not to mention the need to justify the unionization of a group of professionals (and the attendant union dues that arise out of that relationship) and nothing resembling a fact-based rationale could be found?

In point of fact, East Providence, like many other municipalities (as well as the state), is facing a very difficult fiscal situation, mostly as the result, it should be noted, of the irresponsible budgeting practices of past School Committees and City Councils. No one on the present committee or council is the least bit happy about asking municipal employees to take a reduction in compensation. Not one bit.

While, to reiterate, the current budget crunch is mostly the doing of prior School Committees and City Councils, the teachers union only exacerbates a difficult situation, thereby mis-serving its membership, by failing to convey important facts and misinterpreting the goals of the School Committee and City Council.

East Providence Schools: The Fiscal Problems They Face

Anchor Rising has received the following:

The East Providence School Committee is providing 2 examples of the financial avalanche facing our entire community.

Attached is legal action by the Northern RI Collaborative seeking past due payment of $563,214.30 for tuition payments for our special-needs students.

It is irrational that the teachers' union chooses to ignore the financial crisis facing its own community. This is apparent given their behavior at our school committee meeting tonight.

Taking the Deliberative Out of Democracy

Let's recap the events that helped bring last night's East Providence school committee meeting to an abrupt end.

The third speaker of the public comment period was East Providence teacher Mary Texeria. As Justin alluded to in the previous post, Ms. Texeria made a tough but fair statement saying that she would be willing to accept a pay freeze for as long as five years, if the school committee would "admit" -- her word -- to all of the factors that have contributed to the East Providence budget crisis. The factors she mentioned were that "the school committee was never supported by the city council", "too many state mandates", "the collapse of our economy" and "mismanagement over a 10 year period". (Start at 0:49 here).

Then East Providence resident Tom Riley took his turn. He also discussed the salary situation, stating that he would prefer to see an across-the-board salary reduction that would preserve the existing number of teacher positions, rather than cuts that result in junior teachers being laid off. At that point, somebody from the union side demanded that Mr. Riley be prevented from commenting on this subject, despite the fact that Mr. Riley's comments were no more further afield from the subject of the meeting than Ms. Texeria's.

And the teachers clapped.

In response to a demand that a citizen be silenced, the teachers clapped, eventually loud enough to prevent Mr. Riley from being heard. (Interruption of Mr. Riley is constant, but start at about 1:50 here to hear the end).

East Providence teachers union President Valerie Lawson later went on WJAR-TV (NBC 10) with Dan Jaehnig to say that "we live in a democracy, everybody's entitled to free speech". Apparently to Ms. Lawson, a democracy is a place where only union members have the freedom to speak on issues in public forums. This kind of disdain for citizens, taxpayers and democracy is why many members of the general public have ultimately come to take a dim view of teacher unions.

We have to do better than this if we expect self-government to survive.

The Sound of the Beginning of the End

The following are some audio clips from the East Providence School Committee meeting. Keep in mind, while listening, that the sound isn't entirely representative. For one thing, I was sitting near the taxpayer group, so they might be overrepresented in the general sound level (although still greatly outnumbered).

• School Committee Chairman Anthony Carcieri makes his appearance to booing: stream, download
• The union sets the tone right from Mr. Carcieri's very first words (and, yes, that's me shouting "grow up" — keep in mind that I'd already been subjected to a half-hour of union slogan chanting and screams): stream, download
• The teachers cheer that some of them have actually done (gasp!) extracurricular work: stream, download
• The teachers cheer that they can blame poor performance on "facilities" (nevermind that keeping up with teacher contracts has been bleeding other segments of school budgets for years): stream, download
• A moment of heckling, including the call of "Scared?": stream, download
• Just a snippet of the tone that continued, with a gradual escalation, throughout the meeting: stream, download
• The teachers find the phrase "anti-bullying" humorous: stream, download
• The teachers find the quip "outdoor voice" humorous: stream, download
• Anthony Carcieri attempts to lay down the ground rules for public comment, and local union leader Valerie Lawson speechifies: stream, download
• East Providence teacher Mary Texeira offers a reasonable statement — although she probably goes off the union message a bit when she states that she wouldn't mind a five-year pay freeze if the school committee would lay out the reasons that it's necessary: stream, download
• Taxpayer Tom Riley takes the mike and faces down the hecklers — inspiring the single most silent moment of the night when he suggests that younger teachers will lose their jobs if the union doesn't let the district spread the costs across their pay packages — but the devolution of the meeting leads the school committee (almost inaudibly) to adjourn: stream, download

Images from Tuesday's School Committee Meeting

[Prior to the commencement of the meeting]

At the entrance to the High School Auditorium

As media cameras roll, cheers, yelling and chants of "teachers, teachers".

And down in front, two or three merry bars of Solidarity Forever.

What We're Up Against

So parking has already spilled over to the supermarket parking lot across the street, and it was clear from conversation that the women standing at the crosswalk with me were teachers from another district. As we crossed, the policeman directing traffic told them to "be loud — my wife is a teacher." (There's a six-figure household.)

Barely had I sat down when the unionist who had complained to me in the men's room of driving down from Boston for a recent Tiverton School Committee meeting accosted me, suggesting that I "get a real job — you loser." I tried to be friendly, but he didn't seem interested. Subsequently, he walked around pointing me out to the other side.

Fun, fun.

ADDENDUM:

At least there are some good guys here, some wearing t-shirts that read: "Teachers and Union Reps BIG Difference."

ADDENDUM (7:36 p.m.):

The teachers are screaming like kids at a rock concert for the benefit of a television camera. This should be required viewing for all citizens of the state.

ADDENDUM 7:39 p.m.:

It's sort of that old comic book cliché of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, isn't it? There simply is no money, and yet, one out of six Rhode Islanders is being prodded by union organizations to get out and demonstrate against necessary adjustments.

Do they not understand what is happening, or do they not care? (Or does their union organization strive to keep them misinformed and maleable?)

ADDENDUM 7:44 p.m.:

I saw Pat Crowley strolling up the aisle along which I'm sitting, and I prepared myself to shake his hand, should we make eye contact. A friendly quip came to mind for the moment after skin contact: "See, reality didn't explode." Instead, he kept his shaking hand in his pocket and handed me a business card with the following quotation from a Boston Globe letter:

Why are we the pigs? The public employees I know are social workers who care for abused and neglected children. Or they work with mentally ill and mentally retarded adults and adolescents. They find homes for the homeless. They keep the roads repaired and clean. They open and close the bridges. They run the 911 emergency system. They teach our children. They keep the city and state hospital systems working. They run state prisons. Public employees are police officers and firefighters. Public employees help keep you healthy and safe.

But nobody disputes any of this. We who wish reform have a variety of roles that benefit society. Were I in a poetic mood, I'd list some of the more sympathetic among private sector jobs, but you can certainly come up with them yourself. Rhode Island simply cannot afford to keep leading with its heart, because those people who do all those wonderful things — along with coaxing the system to pad their wallets — are pulling the entire state into the quicksand.

ADDENDUM 7:56 p.m.:

True to the usual maturity of these audiences, the teachers booed as the school committee walked toward the stage — one of them a young lady who's probably a student.

ADDENDUM 8:02 p.m.:

Vicious "boos" as Anthony Carcieri walks in room. Unbelievable. And intended to intimidate.

ADDENDUM 8:05 p.m.:

Boos and heckling as soon as Committee Chairman Carcieri tried to speak. I cannot believe adults think it's appropriate to behave like this.

ADDENDUM 8:08 p.m.:

Even the Pledge of Allegiance became a bit of protest theater in their hands.

ADDENDUM 8:16p.m.:

Despite quips and harangues from the audience, the school committee is just moving forward with the agenda.

Pay attention, teachers: this is what courage looks like.

ADDENDUM 8:19p.m.:

As a few teachers continue to shout out, and the rejoinders from the crowd for them to "shut up" increase, I do wonder whether any of the teachers are embarassed that they are asked to join these mobs. Or did those teachers decline to come out tonight?

ADDENDUM 8:23p.m.:

Mr. Carcieri has skipped an item or two on the agenda, requiring others at the table to correct him. There have been a couple of snickers from the crowd, but one really must appreciate the anxiety that his position engenders, just now — even those who disagree, I would think.

ADDENDUM 8:31 p.m.:

During a review of a district-wide analysis, an administrator mentioned a couple of instances in which teachers are volunteering time and working after hours. The teachers cheered, as well they should.

They're also cheering as she describes that some deficiencies aren't the teachers, but the supplies and tools that the district provides. As I'll be pointing out in a graph in the near future, a significant reason for that development is that more and more of RI districts' money has been going to pay teachers' salaries and benefits.

ADDENDUM 8:36p.m.:

Some heckles to "speak up" and "use the microphone." A woman called out, "Scared?" If she were closer to me, I might have called out in return: "Wouldn't you be."

Perhaps the most astonishing thing, coming from teachers, is the utter lack of empathy that they exhibit. I imagine they do better with the students, but it's disconcerting to realize that they believe school committee members to be The Enemy, and therefore undeserving of some basic respect.

ADDENDUM 8:40 p.m.:

A mention of an anti-bullying program brought what I'd describe as cackles from the audience. It's like a movie set in Medieval times.

Now their screaming "out door voice." Really.

ADDENDUM 8:43 p.m.:

It's a good thing that we've gotten to the public comment section. I don't think the audience could stand to sit still much longer.

ADDENDUM 8:46 p.m.:

Local union head Valerie Lawson wants them to accept the arbitration. "Let the teachers get back to teaching the students."

You mean they're not?

ADDENDUM 8:49 p.m.:

Comments from the crowd around me suggest that the teachers intend to run the clock.

One just gave a reasonable speech and said that she "has no problem not getting a raise for the next five years" if the school would admit the problems.

The next speaker got up and introduced himself as a taxpayer. He was jeered.

ADDENDUM 8:53 p.m.:

The union is declaring "point of order" that the speaker is bringing up issues that aren't on the agenda. Heckle. Heckle. Jeer. Jeer.

But this isn't an agenda item. It's just a statement from an interested member of the public.

The school committee declared that the meeting is getting out of hand and called it a night.

ADDENDUM 8:58 p.m.:

Very loud boos as the school committee prepares to leave.

Any teachers who read this, I implore you: Take a moment to consider why it is reasonable for these town officials to be nervous. Think of the environment that you create at these meetings — not just this one, but every big and small town in the state. Is this who you want to be?

Thousands of Sharon Wests

Many Rhode Islanders surely share the sentiments that Sharon West expresses from East Providence:

Recently, a consultant hired by the committee reported that the average teacher makes $69,000 a year and receives benefits costing $26,000 annually.

Yes, $95,000, and many make even more. The consultant stated that this amounts to an hourly wage of $93. Please bear in mind that currently the School Department is $4 million in the red and sinking deeper every day.

As average homeowners, as well as renters, struggle to pay utility bills, car payments, the mortgage or the rent, buy groceries and pay medical bills, these 180-day-a-year workers want still more. Teachers, look around! These folks are valiantly struggling day by day to provide basic necessities for their families.

We, the working stiffs who pay for everything, need some relief, not further plundering.

The question is whether there are enough of us to force change. Can we (or hard experience) shake enough of our neighbors out of their apathy to counterbalance the well entrenched interests that bind the state? Let's hope the isolated reform movements that have emerged (notably in the East Bay, for some reason) are the tip of the spear, not the rear guard of an exodus.

Tasting the New Environment

I just heard on WPRO that the judge won't decide whether to stop the East Providence School Committee's unilateral employment change until the 23rd. It looks like union members will start to feel the pinch of not giving concessions.

That's a huge change for the better from an environment in which they expect to get back pay no matter how long they hold out.

Wherego the Impressions Goes Public Opinion

Union members and supporters in Rhode Island should contemplate hard where their self-imposed imperatives are placing them in the battle of messages. On their side is a dogged assertion that official processes don't weaken their hand even during financial emergencies:

[Union lawyer John] Leidecker also said state law says districts should adhere to the old contract until a new one is executed, and there aren't exceptions for a fiscal crisis. In addition, he said the committee members' decisions yesterday "further indicates their disdain for the process," particularly the arbitration process, which produced a "fair settlement."

It's understandable that the union would take that line; they've managed, over the years, to hone The Process in their favor, after all. However, regular folk tend to turn against tilted processes when they collide against reality and reason:

Mayor Joseph Larisa said: "East Providence is flat broke. The big labor contract that finally expired was as outrageous as it is unaffordable. Now that the damage has been done, the options left are a crazy 15 to 20 percent property-tax increase against our hard-hit taxpayers, bankruptcy or finally setting reasonable and fair compensation for all school employees. There is no fourth option.

East Providence Charges into the New School Year

So states East Providence School Committee Chair Anthony Carcieri in a press release just out (and available in full in the extended entry):

"This school system has cut everything to the bone except the teachers' contract. Everything," Carcieri said. "They stopped capital improvements years ago. Basic maintenance of the school buildings has all but stopped. We've been ordered to replace about 70 doors for safety reasons, and there's no money to pay for it. We have no extras in our educational program. We've had expert after expert look at this. There is no place left to cut except our biggest account — teachers' pay. I hope they'll understand that this is nothing we want to do. We have no choice."

In a letter to the NEA's Jeanette Woolley (PDF), School Committee Lawyer Daniel Kinder notifies the teachers' union of several changes that the committee "must, and will, implement... effective Monday, January 5, 2009 at 12:01 a.m." Included is no pay increase, a 20% contribution to healthcare premiums for all active teachers and all retirees on or after November 1, 2008, and other healthcare-related provisions. Chief among those is not only the complete elimination of the buy-back provision (previously over $5,000 for declining coverage), but the addition of the following language:

No employee or retiree shall be eligible for either family or individual health coverage or family or individual dental coverage if the employee or retiree has available to him/her alternate coverage from another source, whether from another employer, a spouse's employer, a governmental entity, or otherwise. Thus, for example, without limitation, if an employee's spouse is employed by an employer who maintains a group health insurance plan that includes family or spousal coverage, the employee is not eligible for coverage under the East Providence Schools group plan. Similarly, without limitation, Medicare eligibility or a teacher's employment by an employer who maintains a group health insurance plan would also render the teacher ineligible for coverage pursuant to the East Providence School Department plan. Each employee and retiree claiming eligibility for health insurance coverage pursuant to the School Department's plan shal be required each year to provide the School Department with an affidavit in form satisfactory to the School Department, averring under oath and penalties of perjury, that the teacher does not have available to him/her health insurance and/or dental insurance from any source other than the School Department.

In short, any teacher who can get coverage elsewhere must do so. Note the absence of any weasel language like "comparable."

The teachers in East Providence and throughout Rhode Island must come to realize that their union has served them extremely poorly by:

1. Failing to accurately assess the financial realities of the state and towns, and/or
2. Promising the possibility of endless advances via hardball negotiations.

The state's been pushed off a cliff, and it is time for unionists and other riders of Rhode Island's apocalpyse to reorient themselves toward reviving our drowning society.

Press Release
January 2, 2009
Anthony A. Carcieri
Chair, East Providence School Committee

The East Providence School Committee announced today that it will roll back a nearly-5% pay increase granted to teachers in May 2007, and begin charging teachers 20% of the cost of health insurance, effective on Monday, January 5. Also gone will be a controversial "buyback" program, in which teachers have been paid over $5,000 per year if they received health insurance from their spouses' employers.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," said Anthony A. Carcieri, School Committee Chair. "On October 31, we had $4.5 Million in bills we couldn't pay. It's only gotten worse since then. If we don't stop the blood loss now, we'll owe $9 Million next October, and the schools will simply stop functioning. This is a death spiral. We've got to stop it."

The School Committee and the East Providence Education Association ("NEARI") reached impasse in negotiations for a new labor contract on October 29, two days before the last contract expired. Despite mediation by state-appointed mediator Bernard Singleton, the Union called off further talks, insisting that it could not agree to a package of concessions that would save the School Department $3 Million in the fiscal year beginning November 1, 2008.

The Union did make a verbal offer of concessions it said would save the School Department about $1 Million. "We costed out their proposal and it was a very bad deal for taxpayers. The actual savings this year would have been non-existent. The so-called "$1 Million savings" was simply a deferred pay raise and $330,000 in contributions to health insurance premiums. Even with the health insurance savings, because of other increases in the proposal, the School Department's FY09 teachers' contract costs would have increased over FY08 costs by about $800,000. Further, the proposal would have really socked it to us in the second year, when two pay raises within a month would have jumped our costs by another $2 Million," Said Jerome Baron, Finance Director for the school system. "Even if they had offered $1 Million in real savings, that wouldn't have done it. There's nowhere to get the rest of the money."

East Providence's 500 teachers are the only public school teachers in Rhode Island who have never contributed a cent towards their health insurance premiums. Their pay amounts to over $33.2 million, better than $65,000 per full-time and part-time employee. That pay will drop to $31.7 Million on Monday, a 4.88% reduction, so the average pay will still exceed $63,000 per year. Full-time teachers work only 181 days per year, less, on average, 8 sick days and two personal days per year.

The new cost saving measures are only the latest in a series of steps taken by the School Department. In November 2008, bus aide positions were eliminated, with a private contractor taking over and saving the schools $549,000 per year. Last year, custodians agreed to a package of contract concessions that made them the first school employees to contribute to their health insurance premiums.

"This school system has cut everything to the bone except the teachers' contract. Everything," Carcieri said. They stopped capital improvements years ago. Basic maintenance of the school buildings has all but stopped. We've been ordered to replace about 70 doors for safety reasons, and there's no money to pay for it. We have no extras in our educational program. We've had expert after expert look at this. There is no place left to cut except our biggest account – teachers' pay. I hope they'll understand that this is nothing we want to do. We have no choice."

Rhode Island law prohibits school committees from spending more than they are allocated by city, state and federal funding sources. In October, the School Committee submitted a budget to the City Council that would have paid off the $4.5 Million debt and ended the `08-`09 year without a deficit. It was $9 Million higher than the City's allocation, and required tax increases that exceeded those permitted by East Providence's Charter and by state law. The City Council rejected that budget, and instead provided the schools with a $400,000 increase over last year – a year in which costs exceeded income by $3.5 Million.

The School Committee filed a so-called "Caruolo" lawsuit against the City in October, in an effort to force it to begin paying last year's bills.

"Those lawsuits make no sense," said Committee member Steven Santos. "The taxpayers pay $200,000 to a lawyer for the City and $200,000 to a lawyer for the schools, and what's the result? The taxpayers still have to find a way to cover the debt, and now its $400,000 bigger. We should be good enough to work it out without any lawsuit. I'm sure that will be high on both the School Committee and the City Council's agenda in the new year."

With a projected deficit this year of over $4.2 Million, the trimming of costs is not finished. The East Providence Taxpayers' Association last week sent a letter to School Committee members demanding to know how it would close the budget gap if it reduced teachers' compensation by only $3 Million.

"I hope everyone will stay calm," said Carcieri. "The teachers and the taxpayers need to know that we are working on problems that were created over many years. We're attacking those problems. We are not attacking the teachers or the taxpayers. Give us a chance."

Mario Cirillo, Superintendent of Schools said, "We have to escape this detrimental financial cycle. Our administrative staff is one of the smallest – probably the smallest – of any school district of this size in the northeast. We should be focusing all of our efforts on improving our teaching, improving our curriculum, helping our kids to be better equipped to succeed in the 21st Century. For example, we should be thinking about teaching computer skills, but that's just out of the question. Instead, we are focusing too much of our time on trying to figure out how we're going to afford to pay our special providers for our special-needs kids next month. This can't go on."

Union Reverse Tautology and Arbetrayal

The rhetorical dance of the East Providence teachers' union is so flowing, it's easy to miss the essential argument:

"The School Committee's solution to their self-inflicted fiscal problem is to blame it on the teachers' contract and to shift the entire burden of paying off that deficit to the teachers," union representative Jeannette Woolley countered in her opening statements. She also said the district had opportunities to implement health-care cost sharing before with past contracts but the school board members at the time "dropped the ball."

In addition, Woolley showed the teachers conceded scheduled raises three years ago when the district needed help, and the committee and school administration didn't raise the issue of health-care cost sharing then, either.

"So the bottom line from our perspective is that this school district is not in its current condition as a result of what the School Committee likes to term an overly rich contract," she said. "The facts suggest that the School Committee simply hasn't taken care of business over the years in this school district."

Got it? The School Committee didn't negotiate tighter contracts over the years, leading to the currently unaffordable one, so that contract can hardly be said to be "overly rich." The lessons for children are manifold: That overweight child could have forced himself away from the potato chips and the video game console at any time, so it can hardly be said that he ought to change his behavior now that he's obese!

The worst part is that the tie-breaking "neutral" arbitrator apparently bought the argument, at least sufficiently that his panel issued a decision that the school committee clearly can't accept — thus illustrating what a scam the arbitration process is in Rhode Island:

Mr. Ryan continues:

"The Union urges that comparability (to other district contracts), not ability to pay, should be the panel's paramount consideration. The School Committee insists that it has no choice but to pay its FY08 debts and adhere to its budget for FY09. School department deficits are unlawful under R.I.G.L. §§ 16-2-9(d), (e), & (f); 16-2-21 (b) & (c); 16-2-21.4; 16-2-11 (c); and 16-2-1. These interlocking enactments prohibit school departments from incurring or maintaining a deficit or engaging in deficit spending." ...

Mr. Kinder commenting on his dissenting vote said: "The award is useless because the School Committee is prohibited by law from accepting it. The award is useless because the School Committee cannot meet the award's costs in the first year of its 3-year term, let alone in the second or third years. Those are facts. Those facts were placed before the panel. The panel's award ignores these facts and provides modest changes that, if adopted last year, might have served to avert this year's financial crisis. But, last year, when the Teachers' Union was asked to accept similar, modest changes in order to avert a $3.2 million deficit, the Union refused. In consequence, the School Department will end this year with a deficit of well over $8 million, if nothing is done."

Will's got the entire School Committee press release up on Ocean State Republican.