Mayor turns up heat on teacher talks

Mayor Scott Avedisian has stepped up efforts to settle a teacher contract, calling for mediation sessions in addition to the meeting scheduled for May 23 on May 30 and then an all-day session starting at 8 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 2.

Darlene Netcoh, president of the Warwick Teachers Union, said the union is prepared the meet at any time to negotiate including weekend to settle a contract. She has no issue with the mayor’s request for additional sessions.

“That’s fine, we’ve said that from the start,” she said of additional mediation sessions.

Superintendent Philip Thornton is also aboard.

“We’re in,” he said Wednesday.

But mediator Vincent Ragosta, who has a commitment on May 30 and will be mediating a case in Florida in the days following, won’t be here. Ragosta said Wednesday he saw no reason why working as a “facilitator” Avedisian couldn’t keep the wheels turning and oversee meetings on May 30 and June 2. He said this would be discussed at the May 23 session.

Meanwhile, in an interview Tuesday, Netcoh reiterated the union’s willingness to accept the findings of interest arbitration as a binding contract, a proposition that Thornton has not agreed to. That decision, which is expected to be rendered shortly, is non-binding on financial matters.

“From the taxpayers’ standpoint you never sign something you haven’t seen yet,” Thornton said explaining his hesitance to go along with a blanket acceptance of an arbitration decision.

Thornton believes through mediation the parties can reduce the number of issues between the parties that would expedite a decision on the part of Michael Ryan, the arbitrator.

Ragosta also sees this as a viable path as it reduces the “risk” to both parties of a decision adverse to their positions.

Ragosta also pointed to the multitude of moving parts between Superior and Supreme Court cases, Rhode Island Department of Education reviews and labor relations board grievances, saying, “they’re so active and litigious parties you can find.”

Overall, Ragosta said the parties are going through “a sea change in relationships.” Likening it to other public and private contract agreements he has worked on, Ragosta said there are periods when collective contracts need to retooled and rebalanced.

But Ragosta also cautioned that this shouldn’t be compared to a family dispute where the parties get a court ruling and go their separate ways.

“Whatever the outcome of all these cases, the parties have to work together the next day,” he said. “Once this process is done the parties have to live and work together.”

Ragosta said Avedisian understands that and has the “knack for being practical.”

In a letter dated Tuesday to Thornton, Netcoh and mediator Vincent Ragosta, Avedisian notes that mediation started in September 2015, was halted by the School Committee after 12 sessions a year later. They resumed in January after Avedisian requested to be at the table. Since then four mediation sessions have been held, all of them attended by the mayor.

Since the last meeting in March, Avedisian notes, there have been several court actions as well as hearings before the State Labor Relations Board and a review by the State Department of Education.

“As I am concerned that the interest arbitration decision be something that everyone can agree to support, I am hopeful that some all-day mediation sessions would whittle down the number of issues that the arbitrator would need to decide on,” the mayor writes.

“Our stand now is that we’re willing to make arbitration binding,” said Netcoh. “But apparently we’re dealing with a side that would rather go to court.”

Asked how could agree to interest arbitration when she doesn’t know what the decision might mean, Netcoh said the union is prepared to take that risk. Netcoh also points out the irony of the Thornton’s hesitance to agree to an arbitration decision sight unseen since “they are the ones who asked for interest arbitration.”

Thornton listed the following issues raised in interest arbitration:

l Teacher evaluations

l Administrative evaluations

l Classroom weighting that considers students with an IEP, individual education program, as more than one student when calculating class size

l Salary

l Common time planning

l Stanines that are used in placing students in low, medium and high level classes

l Coaching. Currently coaches are selected on the basis of seniority. The administration is looking to make selection based on qualifications.

l Job fair. Like coaches, the administration is looking to give priority to qualifications over seniority when filling positions.

l Electronic grading. While teachers have gone along with electronic grading, it is not formally a part of the contract.

l Sick days. The former contract gives teachers 90 paid sick days.

l The 40/20 rule. Under the former contract the administration had the authority of notify 40 teachers of possible layoff, but to actually layoff only half of them.

l Educational materials. The former contract does not include language on software and is limited to textbooks.

The parties could only guess when Ryan might render a decision. Ragosta said he met with Ryan and reviewed the issues. Ragosta expects Ryan is preparing to render a decision on all the issues and is not pausing to see whether the parties would reduce the number.