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February 11, 2008

Providence teachers signal their dissatisfaction / Photo

Journal photo / Kris Craig
Teachers' union members demonstrate their dissatisfaction this afternoon in front of the School Administration building.

PROVIDENCE -- Carrying signs that said, “A Blizzard of Blunders” and “Stop the Nightmare,” nearly 50 teachers, all of them members of the Providence Teachers’ Union, picketed the School Board meeting this afternoon.

“Enough is enough,” said PTU President Steven Smith. “This is about two years of ineffective leadership.”

Smith said that the union’s executive board voted last week to hold a series of such informational pickets.

Teachers will also be asked to take a vote of no confidence in the leadership of Supt. Donnie Evans’ and School Board President Mary McClure on or about March 13. The union, however, does not plan to ask teachers to work to rule, a condition under which faculty only fulfill the letter of the law when it comes their jobs.

The union action comes as no surprise. Teachers and principals have been expressing their dissatisfaction with Evans’ leadership for the past two years, citing poor communication, a lack of support and no clear sense of direction. Those issues were compounded by two recent events: the Dec. 13 snowstorm, which left busloads of students stranded for hours, and the W-2 mistake, in which the school department failed to take out enough federal taxes from teachers’ paychecks, money that faculty members have to pay back.

“This is global,” said Bethany Beretta, a first-grade teacher at Nathanael Greene Middle School, which went without a principal for two months earlier this winter. “There has been a lack of leadership, a lack of direction and a lack of accountability.”

Evans, in a prepared statement, said that he values the dedication and hard work of each teacher but said that the district must focus on improving student performance.

“In order to accomplish this goal, we must do things differently,” he said. “The old ways of doing business in this district are simply not working.”

Evans also said that he and the board remain committed to negotiating a “forward-looking” contact that will put children first.

-- Journal staff writer Linda Borg

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 6:00 PM | Permalink

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Michael Correia | February 12, 2008 5:54 AM link

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