Pepe refutes statement of 'support'

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD School Committee member Antonette Pepe has refuted the statement that the Springfield School Committee "supported" the teacher contract proposal that was released by the Finance Control Board on April 18.

During the press conference conducted that day Finance Control Board Executive Director Phil Puccia said the School Committee supported the proposal. School Committee members Kenneth Shea, Thomas Ashe, Michael Rogers and Pepe were at the press conference.

Pepe told Reminder Publications last week that she had never seen the proposal prior to the press conference and that the School Committee had not taken a vote whether or not they supported the new contract.

At the press conference, Shea said that "all contracts are balancing acts" and that this contract attempts to balance the needs of the teachers and the children.

Shortly after that statement, Pepe did comment she had never seen the contract before, and began asking questions about the proposed increased length of the school day. The press conference ended shortly after Pepe began asking questions.

The new contract would increase compensation rates for teachers, but tie-in raises with student achievement. Thirty percent of a teacher evaluation would be based on the progress made by a class and 70 percent would be based on a portfolio maintained by the teacher on his or her activities and success.

Pepe raised the point of how class performance could be altered by transfer students coming from a school with different standards.

"Who's going to get punished for that?" she asked.

She also questioned how music, art and physical education teachers would be evaluated.

The new contract would increase the teaching day in the elementary schools to seven hours and there would be a decrease in available sick time. Pepe wondered if the proposed raise would compensate for these changes.

Pepe also was concerned whether or not the new contract assures teachers to have a duty-free lunch period. The contract has two clauses under duty-free lunch. The first clause states that "except in cases where supervision by teachers is required, elementary school teachers on single session shall have a duty-free lunch period of one half-hour. Assignment to lunch duty, when required, will be shared equitably."

The second clause reads, "High school, Middle School and K-8 teachers shall have a duty-free lunch period of one half-hour between the end of one teaching period and the beginning of another teaching period except in secondary schools where multiple lunch periods are scheduled and the duty-free lunch may occur in the middle of a class period. Teachers of the emotionally disturbed shall be given a duty-free lunch period immediately preceding or following the normal lunch period of their students."

Pepe said the new contract takes away health benefits for the two officials of the Springfield Education Union, who are school personnel on leave from their jobs.

"It's a lousy pool, but I'm not surprised," she said.

Pepe said she did like the provision in the agreement creating a website where teachers can share lesson plans.