St. Paul Teachers' Strike

[sharon]

Anyone in St. Paul following the possibility of a possible strike? There's a rally on Tuesday at the school board meeting to support them beginning to negotiate with the teachers. I'm happy to share the info if anyone wants to join us!

On a personal note, I'm obviously hoping it doesn't come to a strike, but am glad the teachers are standing up for the students.

[sharon]

Here's the letter to the editor I sent in to the Pioneer Press today -

From the beginning the teachers and their union have communicated to the district and the community their four highest priorities, paraphrased by me here:

1. Giving all students access to social workers, counselors, nurses, librarians, art, music and phys. ed. teachers.
2. Reducing class sizes
3. Reducing time spent on testing and testing preparation
4. Funding Pre-K for all St. Paul 4 year olds

On September 23rd of this school year the district’s lawyer read a statement saying they would not negotiate with the union and then the district’s representatives walked out of what was meant to be a negotiation meeting. The district insisted that any negotiations take place behind closed doors away from Saint Paul Public School parents and the community.

I remember thinking then that this was not a good sign.

The district instead repeatedly refers to their approach, which is named, nicely enough, “Strong Schools, Strong Communities.” How we can have those things with the community left out of these negotiations remains unclear to me.

I remember sitting in one of the original community meetings (back when we were allowed to attend) about “Strong Schools, Strong Communities” at which the new “zones” the city would be divided into for schooling were laid out for the public. I sat and looked and looked at the map in my hand that they had given out with the four zones and was trying to make sense of it. One zone had almost all children on free or reduced lunch and children of color. One zone had almost no students on free and reduced lunch and very few children of color. Two zones had sort of a mix of children on and off free and reduced lunch and children who were and were not of color. I read it and read it and thought I wasn’t understanding it, so I asked. No, I was understanding it. The haves and have-not each had a very clear zone in which to go to school. They had color-coding and everything on the map.

This was definitely not a good sign.

So admittedly my first impression of “Strong Schools, Strong Communities” was not a good one. The name seems only sadly ironic. But the four priorities laid out by the teachers do seem to me to be important to living up that name.

And now here we are the verge of a potential strike and still the district and their representatives are not showing any willingness to negotiate on these four main priorities.

So, I have several questions for Superintendent Silva and those negotiating for her:

1. Do you disagree that the priorities set out by the teachers are for the good of all of us? The teachers are telling you these things are key a to make our schools better, safer more educational places. Do you disagree with that? If you do, perhaps that is a place to start and as a community member who believes these things are also good and important, I would want to hear your answer.

2. Since funding for all day kindergarten was part of the voter referendum that passed, and after that the state began funding all day kindergarten state wide, what is happening with the referendum dollars that were to be used for all day kindergarten? Have my tax dollars, which I heartily voted to use for the schools, since they ended up a part of a double pool for the same purpose, been repurposed in a way that would benefit students?

3. What is a win for the superintendent and those negotiating for her? Is a strike the goal and that is why there has been no willingness to discuss the teachers’ priorities? It’s not clear what being unwilling to talk or compromise on these important points is meant to do. As part of the “Strong Community” I would like to understand the goal here.

Looking at the district’s own information about “Strong Schools, Strong Communities” on the district’s own website it takes many pages into it before it seems to address anything but testing. If the district takes seriously a commitment to living up to the name of its approach, it should begin to listen to the teachers, who are with those students every day. They are telling you some key things the students need.

I was also reading recently about the $40,000 Silva received above her salary to pay for her move from a suburb into St. Paul. This was in 2011, amid teacher layoffs and more than $25 million in budget cuts, but the rationale at the time was that it was important for her to be immersed in the community.

I think it’s time for us to see if that investment is paying off. The community is talking. Our schools will be stronger if the superintendent begins to listen.