UPDATE: Hudson Teachers Union President Says Atmosphere in Madison is 'Very Positive'

Update (7:35 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011): Hudson Teachers Union President Scott Ellingson talked with Hudson Patch on Saturday about Friday's school closure and the protests happening in Madison.

Hudson Patch: Why were so many teachers out of school on Friday? Was it a coordinated union effort, or did they make the decision individually?

Scott Ellingson: The union had a meeting on Thursday, and we talked about the call by Union President Mary Bell for all Wisconsinites to go to Madison to fight against Walker's budget repair bill. We talked about what individual teachers could do in accordance to that, we discussed the consequences of that and people made their own individual decisions about what they wanted to do. All teachers had great anguish with whatever they decided to do. It goes against their very nature to not go to school. 

Hudson Patch: About how many Hudson teachers went to the protests in Madison on Friday? Did you go? 

Ellingson: I have three boys, who are 2, 7 and 9. I ended up being at home with my boys because they couldn't go to school. It wasn't until later in the day that I went to Madison. I don't know an absolute concrete number, but I know at least 20-30 went down there.

Patch: What is your response to the superintendent saying she was "disappointed" in the teachers who chose not to go to work on Friday?

Ellingson: We were very disappointed that we were in the position where people would not go to work because they felt so strongly about things that they were compelled to, by their own conviction, to go and this "wrong" a "right."

Patch: What would you like to say to the children and families who has their lives disrupted by Friday's school closures?

Ellingson: I'm very sad that we had to do this. Frankly, we're taking hits right now for it. I feel their pain and I want to apologize to them that we were put in this position by Gov. Walker and what he calls a budget repair bill. It attempts to repair the budget, but then it goes way beyond that by taking away the rights of workers in Wisconsin. The teachers union is saying that we can live with belt-tightening provisions and the healthcare provision, but we don't want to do the collective bargaining provision. 

Patch: What do you want the governor to know?

Ellingson: Gov. Walker needs to get to the table and do what adults do. When you have a conflict, you sit down and talk about it and come up with a compromise nobody is going to perfectly like, but is going to be good for the state of Wisconsin and the nation. We're willing to sit down and talk, but we haven't had that option. He tried to steamroll this, and he's obviously learning that there's a problem there.

Patch: What was the atmosphere like at the state capitol building on Saturday?

Ellingson: As dire as we see this, it's very positive. People are upbeat and there's hope in the people. It's just packed. Students are into it. Businesses are giving away free pizza, hot dogs and water, and there's music. It's actually almost celebratory, even though it could be part of a funeral procession if you consider at the concepts. This is what our country is all about compared to other countries and maybe what Egypt is striving for: the chance to make yourself heard. The walls are all covered with signs of support from Baltimore, from New York, from all over the country. There's a couple who drove up from Kentucky to be here for support. It's just unbelieveable. 

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Update (5:52 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18, 2011): Mary Bowen-Eggebraaten contacted Hudson Patch at about 4:30 p.m. to talk about Friday's school closure. She said that she had talked with Scott Ellingson, the local teachers union president, and he said that Hudson teachers would be back at work on Monday.

The superintendent expressed her disappointment in the staff members who missed work today and apologized for the inconvenience it caused for families throughout the district.

"I'm extremely disappointed in our teachers and support staff who chose not to come to work today," Bowen-Eggebraaten said. "That caused us to close school and disrupt the learning of students, and inconvenience our families. On the other hand, I want to commend our teachers and support staff who were here to educate our students. I particularly want to commend our custodians, who were at our buildings in the morning—and they are union members."

Though Bowen-Eggebraaten wasn't able to determine the number of teachers who missed work to attend the state budget repair bill protest in Madison, she noted that there were some staff members at district schools on Friday.

"The office was staffed, principals were there, we had secretaries who were also at work,"Bowen-Eggebraaten said. "We even had teachers who chose to come in on their own time today, because the school was closed."

Though some teachers and staff members were at work this morning, Bowen-Eggebraaten acknowledged that the school closures resulted in a major disruption for a lot of Hudson families, and she apoligized for that.

"The administration is extremely sorry for the inconvenience to our students and their families. We are very disappointed that we were not able to hold school as usual. I'm sorry for the inconvenience it caused for many, many of our families," she said.

Ellingson could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Update (12:08 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 18, 2011): The Hudson School District has released the following statement about Friday's school closure:

"School was closed (Friday, Feb. 18) due to the unusually high teacher absences and the limited availability of qualified teacher substitutes.

Administrators closely monitored teacher absences until a decision was made Thursday, Feb. 17 at 9:45 p.m. to close schools.

The administration was deeply concerned about the capacity to provide adequate instruction and supervision for our students.

Prior to Friday, teachers were strongly urged not to call in sick.

The administration is sorry for the inconvenience to students and families and is disappointed that we were not able to hold school as usual."

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A message on the Hudson School District website says:

"The Hudson School District will be closed Friday, February 18th,due to the unusually high teacher absences and the limited availability of qualified teacher substitutes. The teacher make-up day will be Friday, April 22nd. There will be no school age care on Friday, February 18th. We are sorry for the inconvenience to families."

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Hudson Patch will update this story as information becomes available.