November 18, 2008 7:59 am

Settlement In Union Vs. BOE Contract Dispute

Dateline Norwalk. Remember the summer of August 2007? Remember how the BOE, led by Jodi Bishop-Pullan, voted on extending Corda’s contract without any public input, since the contract wasn’t made available to the public until 5 minutes before the meeting? Remember how the Norwalk Teachers Union sued the BOE over the contract process? It seems so familiar now doesn’t it? Something like a recent contract that was presented to the Norwalk Common Council, without any representation from the BOE. Plus �a change, plus c’est la m�me chose.

In the Corda contract, according to the Advocate this morning, a settlement was reached. Well, you’ll have to read it to believe it:

A settlement agreement signed by both sides Monday requires the board to make employment contracts for the superintendent and senior administrators – as well as any contracts for more than $100,000 – available at the central office at least four days before a meeting at which they’re to be voted on or discussed. The board also will have to send copies of contracts electronically to the teachers union president within that time.

The settlement also noted that the school board will allow union representatives a “reasonable opportunity” to comment publicly on contracts and that copies of other public documents being discussed or voted on at a meeting must be made available before the meeting starts.

“I think that what we did was a wake-up call for this Board of Education and other municipalities about the right of the public to speak and for information to be available,” teachers union President Bruce LeVine Mellion said. “It’s a reminder that the right of free speech cannot be abridged for a moment.”Jody Bishop-Pullan, chairwoman of the school board when the lawsuit was filed, said the stipulations in the settlement are things that it already tries to do.

“It was ultimately good work by both parties to come to the settlement, which would be the best thing for our community and our students,” Bishop-Pullan said.

Corda said the district has been working to get information out to the public, an effort that predated the lawsuit.

“Certainly this is something we’ve been concentrating on,” he said. “This agreement just articulates that.”

source: Advocate, School board contracts to be more public, By Lisa Chamoff, 11/18/2008

Anonymous

Okay, so this amounts to little more than an order not to do it again. The horse is still out of the barn because the superintendent still has a contract that was obscenely generous at the time he got it, but in these terrible economic times, there is no decent language to describe it.
anonymous

Yeah, and the horse’s ass is still in CO.
Anonymous

If only there were only ONE horse’s ass in the C.O.
Educator

Well, here we live in Norwalk, and we have to hear of this news from the Advocate first. This news was finally in today’s Hour. Wow. A day late.

The Hour – always ready…..yup yup, with the best unbiased news there is to print.

You want news? We read it here, folks!

Thanks
Secondhand Rose

(*sigh*)

You hear it from The Advocate first because The Advocate has a Norwalk issue.

Where have you been for the past 10 years?????
Peggie Loris

Attention NFT members and Norwalk taxpayers alike: Have you any idea of the cost of this particular lawsuit to both NFT members and taxpayers? Money well spent? You be the judge. As to the clause in the stipulated agreement that states that the union president must receive any contracts electronically four days prior to public discussion …. what’s the point of that? He doesn’t even read emails from the teachers he represents within that time period. Four days? Surely you jest.
anonymous

Peggie, don’t call me Surely—Love that line from “Airport”–This was obviously a bloated and expensive exercise in futility. What a bunch of total crap–The real problem is–the overwhelming majority of the NFT membership does not even know about this lawsuit, or would they particularly give a damn–But just wait until those folks in the ozone start to hear rumblings of the impending slash and burn tactics of this present “financial crisis”—Rome will burn, and Bruce and Sal will enjoy the fruits of their “labor”–Just another day at the office!!
Peggie Loris

So, SURELY, what’s your strategy? Are you suggesting that the overwhelming majority of NFT members are unaware of how their NFT dues have been spent? (Yes. Note the past tense.) Are you inferring that NFT members approve every action their union president initiates and executes – with or without their collective vote during NFT general membership meetings?
SURELY … you jest!
SURELY, do you have another game plan to offer the NFT general membership?
Anonymous

Hey Bitter Lady… I’m sorry i mean Peggy Loris. You are still bitter after the butt kicking you got last year in the voting. The scary part is we have to listen or read your crap all the time.

Bruce and the union may not be perfect but come on who is. Bruce works to protect all teachers and members.
Lifelong Teacher

#9 At least Peggy Loris was woman enough to sign her name to her posting. You, on the other hand, hide behind your anonymity and call names like an adolescent.
Union

Thanks for sharing your comments Peggy. It’s nice to see that you at least care. It would be nice to have someone like you representing the forgotten special education teachers. Doug Geyer is suppose to represent us but writes sypathetic letters regarding downtown administrators. They should give him an office downtown were he will fit in with the rest of the self – serving crew.
Educator

#12, I was thinking the exact same thing. You don’t have to venture too far to imagine who it might be – $$$$$$$. And I don’t think it’s a girlfriend.
Peggie Loris

Not bitter, just honest. Not afraid to speak up and share what are actual facts and total truths. And no, you don’t have to listen or read. Put your head back in the sand or take your ball and go home. Leave the blog for those who really have something to say.
Educator

Good for you, Peggie! You go, Girl! (I mean that as a compliment)
Peggie Loris

Thank you, Educator. Let’s return to the original point, shall we? Our NFT president makes decisions without consulting the teachers he represents. Our NFT dues have been, and will continue to be, spent on legal fees we have not approved. And speaking of representation … it’s difficult to address the issues of your membership if you refuse to open the emails they send you. The role of the NFT president is to represent ALL NFT members, not just a select few.
Educator

Peggie, whatever you do, don’t stop writing here. Thank you for what you’re doing. Believe me, you’re doing more good than you probably know.

Let me add that when we need defending, it’s sometimes impossible, unless you’re “special”. And we all know what I mean.
Peggie Loris

Educator, I’m Irish. I don’t accept the “impossible.”
Educator

Stay that way – not accepting the “impossible”. Persistence pays.
Webby

Hey Peggie…legal fees???? What about the public land records???? Maybe I’m just out of the loop but I wonder how many other NFT members are out of the loop and don’t know that the union bought a condo for $185,000 on Mott Avenue. Since there is no mortgage on the place and it’s listed in the name of the NFT, I guess that means “we” bought it outright with “our” union dues. This info is all easily checked in the land records office.

Also, my brother is the union president for all the municipal workers in Norwalk and guess what…he also works FULL TIME at his “other” job in the tax office!

#9…pathetic, just pathetic. Maybe the election would have turned out differently if you had not withheld important information from the voting membership!
Anonymous

Webby, you may already know this, but for the benefit of those who don’t, it was during the Victor Herbert administration that the NFT president won fulltime status as union president. Prior to then, I believe that the president had a slightly reduced teaching load. I’m not 100% sure, but I think the BOE and the NFT each pay half of the salary.

I had no idea about the condo. For $185,000, I imagine it is very small. It is used for an office? Are the NFT’s financial records not open to the membership?
Peggie Loris

#21: On September 23, 2008 I handed NFT treasurer Alex Rossner a letter, requesting a copy of the NFT budget for the 2008-09 school year. Haven’t heard a word since ….
As an NFT member in good standing, I believe I am entitled to a copy of the document that details how my dues are spent. Anyone else care to comment?
Marvin Teacher

If you really feel the union helps protect us, ask Dr. Vaglivelo who used to work at Marvin. Our own union steward set him up. Of course we lose him, a great part of our staff, and we’re stuck with our principal who will have to work with another assistant principal until they do something to get her angry. Of course she got rid of the old assistant by making her life so miserable she took a job in another town. And so the story continues in Norwalk. Oh how proud I am to work in the most corrupt city in CT. Maybe we can hire Elliot Spitzer to take over Bruce Morris’ job when he leaves!
Lucy

#21 -”I�m not 100% sure, but I think the BOE and the NFT each pay half of the salary.”

You may not be sure, but I am.

I AM sure you are not the only one who “thinks” that!
Anonymous

From #21: Lucy, I don’t understand your response. Do you mean that what I believe to be true is true? not true? I’m also not clear about the meaning of your last sentence.
Lucy

#25 Can it be checked? I am 99% sure, “not true”.
Anonymous

Someone on this blog must know.
Concerned Dem

If you read the Hour editorial today, there is a comment that this was a victory for the public as well. The decision stated that all contracts over $100K must be made available to the public for comment 4 days prior to discussion and vote. That means Teacher Union contracts also-sounds good to me.
Concerned Dem

“Corda said the district has been working to get information out to the public, an effort that predated the lawsuit.”
They are not working hard enough–the lack of response to parents over the Spectrum problems is a disgrace. Also, the BOE is completely failing at posting the minutes from Executive sessions, where only the discussions are not open for public inspection. Everything else is supposed to be on their website with the minutes of regular meetings, meaning reason for executive session, the vote taken and who was present.
Anonymous

Concerned Dem: His statement is proof that if a person tells a lie but does so with a look of sincerity on his face, most people will believe it, no matter how ridiculous it is.

As for an executive session, there are no minutes to post. Is that what you meant to write? The public session and the general reason for going into executive session are the public information that is available. Any votes must be conducted during the public session, although the discussion leading up to it makes the vote more difficult to analyze.
Peggie Loris

Lucy and #27: Is your question Do the NFT and the BOE each pay half of the NFT president’s salary? If so, the answer is YES! Refer to page 5 of the NFT/BOE contract for documentation. The BOE also pays “100% of all fringe benefit costs.”
Teacher

Peggie, if every teacher did their own homework, they wouldn’t be like sheep in the forest. You obviously read it and know what’s going on. There’s no secret – everyone should know that contract!
Lucy

You guys just don’t get it, do you. You are obviously having troubling reading between the lines.
Peggie Loris

Teacher: You and I know that there’s quite a bit more to the story.
Peggie Loris

Lucy: I don’t believe that I have any trouble reading between the lines. I can’t speak for Teacher, but I’ll bet the situation is pretty clear on that front as well.
If there’s an issue you’d like to raise that has not been raised, I invite you to do so.
Teacher

As Ricky Ricardo would say, ‘splain, Lucy!

We don’t want to read between the lines!
Lucy

Actually, I think it’s BM who has “some splainin to do”! I am not at liberty to open this can of worms at the moment.
Teacher

hmmmmmm………interesting. So? If you’re not at liberty, how do we then find out the truth? It’s so confusing! As teachers, we have that right to know. Peggie, you seem to be wonderful at getting to the bottom of things. Good luck.

Tune in for the next episode of As the World Churns.
anon.

Stratford schools were happy to get Carla Armistead after she left Marvin. They love her at the school she is now in charge of. And of course, Norwalk got rid of someone that was well liked and respected and we are stuck with Myrna. Corda is so aware of her bullying staff and he does nothing about it. Principals are allowed to treat their staff like garbage and get away with it. That school’s staff is walking on egg shells.
anonymous

What did the administrators’ union do about her bullying? Anybody know?
Anon.

Why would anything be done? And if there was something done, is hasn’t affected how the administrators treat their staff. Why would the administrator’s union do something about her? They’re only protecting their own. If she has to change her behavior, they would have to follow suit. Do you think that they get together at meetings and discuss how well they treat their staff?
Anonymous

#40: If there was documented bullying, the administrators’ union certainly should have taken action. It’s awkward when the principal and the assistant are both members of the same bargaining unit, but the assistant shouldn’t lose any protection because of that circumstance.
Anonymiss

Doesn’t look like whatever happened helped. You have to actually prove that she bullied the assistant and it would be a “she said, she said” situation. One person’s word against another. And Dr. Vaglivelo got the shaft when Myrna said he vandalized her car. They believed her and not him. And now he’s at Ponus. Good news for Ponus.
Teacher

Most principals and assistant principals are so incredibly savvy, that they’ll walk right to the perimeter of violating the contract and not go over. Just to piss the rest of us. But, here’s the charm: Our union. You have to complain and do it consistently. If the building stewards at each school does their jobs correctly, they meet with the principals each month and they should be putting a union sheet in every teacher’s mailbox asking if you have any item you want to bring up for consultation with the principal. Now, if there is an item, whether it be heat in the building, the way the principal talks to you (and you’re uncomfortable), whatever, you bring that up. Now, if the same problem keeps coming up consistently, then there’s a big problem. It has to be more than twice. Now the catch is here: Most principals will go to 2 complaints, know it, and back opff. It’s kind of like Scar from the movie the Lion King. Very sly. But their not all that way. So that’s a good thing. THere are people here who read this and they could tell me if I have this right or wrong. Once this is done, the principals will be on alert. They know our union better than many of us.
anonymous

Yeah, #43–Ponus is usually the last stop on the line for the “island of misfit toys”(apologies to Santa)–Can anyone figure this out? By the way, Ponus is used to getting this kind of “good” news. Things are getting so bizarre in this system that you don’t know who or what to believe anymore.
Anonymiss

No. I meant that it actually is good news for Ponus because he is thorough, knows his stuff, and is great to work with. This is the reason Myrna got rid of him because he is competent. No principal who is incompetent wants someone working under them who has their act together. They want to surround themselves with idiots to make themselves look better.
Anonymous 36

#44, I am sorry to disagree with one of your points. The union can bring up a problem to the administration. If the problem does not break a written rule, such as harassment, they do not have to address it. If it is just a complaint about something that is not affecting the staff directly, they can sweep it under the rug. It could be an ongoing problem throughout every consultation. It could happen ten times. If the principal does not want to deal with the problem because it is not a union issue, the union stewards can present it every month for the rest of the time they are there and it won’t matter. It must be something that puts the welfare of the students and staff at risk. If it simply something the staff wants to bitch about, they’re placing it upon deaf ears. Bruce won’t do anything anyway.
Educator

Well I have three words for those who suffer: Employee Assistance Program.

It’s not only for “us”, but “them” (the administrators as well). Oh, if only they would listen! But, we must suffer, suffer, suffer!
King TUT

Your all a bunch of jokes !! Stop bitchin and do your jobs. Peegy get off your soap box
Educator

Oh, OK, your royal Highness…….and while you’re at it, why don’t you learn how to spell while you’re up there trying to improve your attitude? It’s not Peegy, but Peggie. Tut tut to you! Ha Ha…..Ha Ha. Oh, I have the feeling you’re going to be the next Tut, I mean BUTT, of OUR jokes….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh I better watch out or Tut “child” will tell me that I have an attitude problem and that I shouldn’t be around children. (Kind of sounds like some administrators who never get around children…….)

Oh sigh. King TUT, please…..go play on the Parkway during rush hour traffic.
Lucy

King Tut…

It’s You’re, not your.

It’s Peggie, not Peegie

You could not come close to doing the kind of job Peggie does in her classroom. She is a master teacher. Just ask anyone who has every worked with her, from yours truly to her principal, Bob McCain.

King Tut, you can’t spell and your grammar sucks! I can only hope you are not a teacher, but I fear I are!