L-P teachers vent over lack of contract

by Larry Austin
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, June 24, 2006

Lewiston-Porter Board of Education member Carol Rogers receives congratulations from Interim School Superintendent Don Rappold at her last board meeting. Rogers did not seek re-election to her seat.

Teachers from surrounding school districts picketed the Community Resource Center prior to Tuesday’s Lewiston-Porter Board of Education meeting.

After the picket, L-P teachers packed the board meeting room to vent their frustration at months of work without a contract.

During the community comment portion of the meeting, Cathy Burns, a middle school art teacher, reminded the board that administrative turnover in the district has never been higher than it is under the current school board; that the district has been without the leadership of a full-time superintendent for the past year; morale is at an all-time low under the current board of education; and by the end of summer, all four of the district’s bargaining units, including the teachers union, will be without a contract.

The remarks by Burns echoed those published in The Sentinel in ads paid for by the Lewiston-Porter United Teachers union.

Board President David Schaubert called the picketing “counterproductive to what they’re doing. I thought the negotiations have been going well.”

Board member Lou Palmeri was less diplomatic during his board report, where he called the union ad “garbage” and assailed the union for trying to pressure the board into adopting a lucrative contract for the teachers. He said the picket and ads were as a result of the loss at the polls by teachers union candidates in the May board elections.

“I support a fair contract that’s fair to the teachers, fair to the public, fair to everybody,” Palmeri said.

“This nonsense that was printed in the paper, that’s something that I would be ashamed of, not only as being unprofessional, but what effect does that have on our children,” he added. “Morale of who? Not the students. I guarantee you that the morale of students is a lot better today than it was in 2001.”

Approximately a dozen teachers walked out in the middle of Palmeri’s comments.

On a happier note, the board and administration lauded outgoing board member Carol Rogers, whose three-year term expired with the close of the meeting. Rogers did not seek re-election and will be replaced by Scott Stepien.

Rogers was on the “board for all the right reasons,” Interim Superintendent Don Rappold said.

“Thanks so much for three years of dedicated service to the children of this community,” board member Robert Laub said to Rogers, echoing comments made by others at the meeting. “Your intelligence, your eloquence and class will be sorely missed by this school board and the entire district.”

“I hope that my three years here on the board itself have helped bring some collegiality to the board,” Rogers said. “I’m really grateful for this opportunity to serve the community on the board. All I wanted was to have future children have at least the same high quality of education that my own children received.”

Also at the meeting, the board approved an increase in a stipend for Rappold. The board has paid Rappold a per diem of $85 a day, but will increase the per diem to $150.

Schaubert said the stipend for Rappold “wasn’t intended to be a forever thing. Even with the increase in his stipend, when you add that to his salary, he was still well below” comparable pay of full-time superintendents.

Regarding the board’s capital project, Schaubert reported the board visited Amherst High School to see their artificial turf athletic fields. Alan Ward said, however, a non-grass field as part of bond issue would be a “step backwards.”