Fostering

attitude of

disrespect
One week ago, members of the Jay Education Association issued a no-confidence vote to the district’s superintendent and School Committee.

The no-confidence vote holds no legal weight, but it is telling of the atmosphere in Jay schools. The district, teachers say, “has shown a significant decline and deterioration in staff morale over the last three years.”

The snide response by the chairman of the School Committee, essentially telling the teaching staff members they are lucky to have jobs and to “get on board with administration,” is also telling.

What makes this friction so unfortunate is that it exists between local teachers and community members, employed by the district and elected to office, who are charged with providing the best possible education for local children.

It is enormously damaging to students if teachers have no confidence in administration and the official response from management is that teachers should stop complaining, that people in other communities have it worse.

Teachers say they do not feel they are supported by the administration and the School Committee and are frustrated by the ongoing contract impasse. Bubbling on the surface is lingering anger that the School Committee took no action to discipline or sanction a member of its own body for threatening, in an e-mail to a principal, to punch a teacher.

In October, Superintendent Stephen Cottrell called the e-mail threat an “inappropriate remark” and on Tuesday, Committee Chairman Clint Brooks indicated that an investigation by the District Attorney’s office found that “intent to do harm” didn’t exist so the board “opted not to pursue any further option.”

While the offending School Committee member may not have been guilty of criminal threatening, there was clearly a breach of respect and, as a matter of courtesy, there should have been some official recognition of wrongdoing.

The permitted disrespect is undoubtedly contributing to teachers’ low morale, to which Brooks suggests: “if the morale is so bad in Jay, those so adversely affected (should) take a look at workers in Millinocket, Kingfield, Old Town and Strong among others and perhaps introspectively revisit the morale issue.”

In language students might understand, Brooks is suggesting teachers just “get over it.”

The School Committee has already demonstrated it will tolerate threats against staff and it has now demonstrated it doesn’t particularly care how frustrated teachers are.

In this environment it was just a matter of time before a no-confidence vote materialized.

Brooks has suggested teachers only organized the ballot because they are dissatisfied with contract negotiations. We suggest the School Committee has adopted a take-no-prisoners attitude with teachers for the same reason.

In the meantime, students are attending classes, soaking up this atmosphere of distrust and anger and learning from it.

Parents and taxpayers might want to ask the district at its next School Committee meeting if this is what passes for education in Jay.


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