NEW GLOUCESTER – SAD 15 teachers, working without a contract since September, are heading to a fact-finding panel Dec. 8 in an effort to resolve an impasse with the school board.
This week, roughly 50 teachers toting picket signs stood in front of the superintendent’s office on the Shaker Road in Gray to garner public support.
This marked the third public demonstration by the teachers, nurses and librarians since the contract lapse.
Michelle Adler, who heads up the teachers union for the district, said by phone this week that roughly 160 teachers have been working under an expired contract since Sept. 1, despite numerous negotiation sessions with the school board that started last March.
She said teachers work many hours of overtime to complete their jobs. Some teachers have assignments that move them between school buildings, and some have schedules that require planning and preparation time.
At issue, Adler said, is teachers’ working conditions.
“It’s about the never-ending day of the teacher,” Adler said. Teachers’ workloads have increased to meet the Maine Learning Results standards and No Child Left Behind requirements, she said.
“Teachers are frustrated, demoralized, unhappy, befuddled and amazed,” she said. Adler said unclear information on salary scales is another contract issue.
School board Chairman Alan Rich said by telephone Monday that he would not talk about the contract negotiation issues.
A fact-finding session is scheduled Dec. 8 between the board and the teachers union with representatives from the Maine Labor Relations Board. The labor board has 30 days to bring a report to the staff and board.
Several mediation sessions have failed to resolve the impasse. The next step after fact-finding, if there is no agreement, is arbitration.
Teachers in SAD 15 ended a three-year contract on June 30.
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