Candidates React To School Bd. Vote Rejecting Additional Contract Talk Participants

By John Voket

Six members of the school board have spoken, shutting out one of its members who was hoping to learn the process of negotiations and a second board of finance observer from the current teacher contract talks. But the discussion continues on whether or not that vote was the best move for the town and its taxpayers among the three individuals who each hope to be Newtown’s top elected official come November.

Democrat Gary Fetzer, Independent Party of Newtown (IPN) candidate Bruce Walczak, and Republican Patricia Llodra each commented on the issue following an August 3 vote of the Board of Education. During a special session, the school board, minus its vice chair, publicly reacted to numerous verbal and written requests to allow a second Board of Finance member to attend the ongoing teacher contract negotiations as an observer.

That proposal was eventually rejected by a 4-2 vote with members Katherine Fetchick and Anna Wiedemann opposing. The board’s seventh member, Vice Chairman Lillian Bittman, was absent.

 According to finance board Chair John Kortze, last month his board unanimously requested a second observer at the teacher’s contract talks in order to help provide “coverage and continuity on behalf of taxpayers on the largest single anticipated labor contract in the town’s history.” By statute, the contract talks must include at least one observer representing the town’s “fiscal authority.”

But because Newtown’s hybrid system that includes both a Board of Finance and Legislative Council as players in that fiscal authority, the school board has traditionally allowed one member from each panel to observe the negotiations, and to report back to their respective boards as warranted. It has also come to light that in past contract talks, these individuals have either been called on, or have voluntarily offered input during caucuses of the team representing the town and school district in the negotiations.

This year, due to the current economic situation, the Board of Finance voted unanimously to seek a second observer at the table to ensure the interests of taxpayers are best represented. The district team in the negotiations includes IPN representative David Nanavaty, an attorney who is at the halfway point of his elected four-year term, and school board chair Elaine McClure, who was not nominated for another term by fellow Republicans, and who is apparently not seeking to petition onto this November’s ballot as a Board of Education candidate.

It is for that reason that Republican Katherine Fetchick, who is also at the midway point in her four-year term, requested a seat at the negotiating table where she hoped to learn the ropes in order to serve as a possible replacement in future negotiations after Ms McClure’s term ends. Ms Fetchick’s request was also denied, but not before Ms Fetchick said she was told repeatedly that the district could only have two voting representatives at the negotiating table.

A subsequent call Ms Fetchick made to the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) determined, however, that there is no specific mandate on how many school board members can participate. The decision rests solely with the school board chair, a fact that was confirmed by Floyd Dugas, labor counsel for the district.

Supporting his feelings on the matter, Mr Nanavaty said during a June 16 school board meeting, “You need experienced negotiators with this contract. This is not a time for somebody to be learning.”

Benefit Of The Doubt

Mr Fetzer, a former selectman who led a school negotiating team on behalf of the faculty at the college where he was working, said in his situation he “appreciated having a larger team that I could draw from their experience and ideas.”

“I do not know what the reasoning is to restrict the negotiating team to only two members and not allowing the Board of Finance to have as many observers as they would like,” Mr Fetzer responded. “I am sure that it would be fine with the teachers.”

The Democratic contender said he would give the Board of Education the benefit of the doubt “until I have more information, that they do have their reasons.”

In regards to Ms Fetchick’s bid, Mr Fetzer said, “It is important to establish continuity and to let someone with little negotiating experience, but who is intelligent and eager to learn, sit in the negotiations, so that they can get experience for the next time.”

Since the teachers contract is such a large part of the overall town budget, Mr Fetzer said if he were first selectman, “as a nonvoting member of the Board of Education, I would want to also sit in as an observer. The outcome of these negotiations are going to affect the upcoming town employees contract negotiations.”

Ultimately, Mr Fetzer said there needs to be an overall plan and a degree of consistency. “The Board of Education and the town do not operate in their own little worlds but are interdependent.”

Taking A Long View

Ms Llodra, a current council member who chairs both the education subcommittee and an advisory committee exploring the possible merging of school and town facilities management, said she understands the point of too many folks at the table and the difficulty of juggling schedules.

“Also, I recognize that Dave Nanavaty has had a lot of experience negotiating with BOE unions,” she said. “Further, I think he has some good ideas and will pursue them with vigor. I can certainly see that his participation adds value to the effort.”

Ms Llodra said it is also understandable that Ms McClure participate.

“As chair of the BOE she has a major stake in the process,” Ms Llodra said. “It is important to recognize that for all intents and purposes, this negotiation will conclude prior to Elaine’s termination as a BOE member.”

While in the short term, Ms Llodra believes that reasoning is important, “long-term thinking persuades me of the following: Adding another BOE member who is likely to be available during the next round of talks is a good idea. Just as Dave Nanavaty has gained in knowledge and understanding by participating in negotiations over time, so too would Kathy Fetchick.

“She is interested and quite capable and will be able to contribute to the process more effectively in the future if she is able to participate now,” Ms Llodra said.

The GOP candidate also recognized that the council and finance board observer roles have been well served in previous negotiations by Jeff Capeci and Mike Portnoy. But Ms Llodra could not concur that “the addition would be so burdensome as to hinder the process, especially if that addition offers solid analytical thinking and creative ideas about how to address the needs of teachers and still remain within the constraints of financial viability.

“The teacher contract is the most high-profile and economically impactful of all municipal employee groups,” Ms Llodra concluded. “We need the best minds at work.”

Respecting The Decision

Mr Walczak, an IPN candidate who is halfway through his first elected term as a police commissioner, acknowledged that the requests for inclusion from both Ms Fetchick and the finance board are legitimate. But he said that the board and its chair’s decisions should be respected as final.

“I think [Ms McClure[ made a decision that reflects the expectations of the team, that adding additional people would make for logistical problems,” Mr Walczak said. “We have to respect that decision.”

Mr Walczak referenced a similar situation on the council where he said IPN representative Po Murray asked to be included as an additional representative on the facilities merger committee that Ms Llodra serves on, and was denied by Chairman Will Rodgers because he felt there were enough members. This was confirmed by Mr Rodgers.

“Mr Rodgers is the chair and it’s his prerogative to designate committee membership,” Mr Walczak said, “so we have to respect that decision.”

Mr Walczak said he also understood there is no statutory limit to the number of observers the finance board may have. But since the sole responsibility of the observers is to report back to their respective boards on the proceedings, irrelevant of what may go on in caucus, the IPN contender said, “I can’t see a legitimate reason to pack the meetings.

“I can’t understand the logic if the observers’ sole function is to report back and keep their boards in the loop,” he continued. “If the Board of Finance [observer] can’t make a meeting, they can pick a substitute or designate someone else who can make all the meetings.”

Mr Walczak said the school board’s negotiating team felt that adding more people would not be productive, and that any opposition to the move after the fact is “interesting, and borders on inappropriate.”

Mr Walczak said when one board does not want to respect the decision of another board, it creates a level of public debate that “doesn’t seem to be helpful, could be counterproductive, and could even interfere with the job the Board of Education has to do to get the teachers’ contract negotiated.”