Newport Teachers Union and School Board Reach Tentative Agreement

Newport Public Schools and the Teachers Association of Newport could be nearing a contract resolution after a full day of negations on Monday, though relations remain chafed and will likely stay that way for some time.

The union’s negotiating committee, in a split vote, did approve a tentative agreement with the School Committee and representatives of the district. But Jennifer Hole, vice president of the union, said “it’s important to note that this vote was not unanimous.”

The full membership is set to vote on the agreement on Oct. 28.

Mary Ann Carroll, the School Committee’s lawyer and representative at the bargaining table, told reporters Monday night that tentative agreement had been reached and said that the maximum class size numbers haven’t changed but there has been some clarification and “flexibility.”

Union leaders were frustrated that Carroll made public comments before the union membership was informed. Some found out on Facebook.

“It all falls into their bullying tactics that they’ve used all along,” Hole said.

Details of the contract are considered confidential during negotiations. The contract, if approved by the union’s rank and file, will go to the School Committee for ratification and become a public document.

The major issue overshadowing contract discussions has been the issue of class sizes.

The issue was front and center at the start of the school year when the district added a new third grade classroom after student overages.

At the time, the district was offering teachers additional compensation in exchange for taking extra students above the 24 student class size limit at that school. The practice has sparked outrage among teachers but the committee contends that they are trying to balance the district’s financial woes into the equation.

Newport started the fiscal year with the onus of a $1.4 million deficit.

The friction between teachers and the administration has been ongoing for some time. Things heated up this summer after the union voted no confidence in the superintendent and many teachers filed grievances after they claimed they had been asked to violate the terms of their working contract.

In response, the superintendent, Colleen Burns Jermain said she arrived to the district in January of 2014 with grievances already in progress. She characterized the no-confidence vote as the byproduct of the protracted contract negotiations and pent-up frustrations on both sides.

“Unfortunately, especially when negotiations are not going smoothly, this is something that often happens.” she said.

Teachers in Newport have been working without a new contract since 2014.

On Friday, a judge granted the union’s request to prevent extended benefits for retired teachers be a part of the negotiations.