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Smooth opening to schools in Burrillville |
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Wednesday, 27 August 2008 |
BURRILLVILLE – Students were back in the classroom Wednesday as were the district’s 200 teachers who have been working without a new contract since August of last year.
Despite the protracted contract battle looming in the background, it was a smooth opening for district schools, which include Burrillville High School, Burrillville Middle School and the Steere Farm, W.L. Callahan and A.T. Levy Elementary Schools.
School Supt. Steven Welford, who was busy making the rounds at each of the schools yesterday, could not be reached for comment on the start of the 2008-2009 academic year, but some of the principals who were contacted reported a quiet first day of school with few glitches.
“It was a nice, smooth opening,” reported high school Principal Robert Boule. “We’ve got all our students and teachers back in class and ready for the new school year. We had the usual first-day nervousness and confusion with some of the freshmen, but other than that everything worked out well. It was a good day.”
An orientation for ninth graders at the high school was held on Tuesday and all 850 students in grades 9-12 reported back yesterday, he said.
“It was a wonderful day and smooth as can be,” said Middle School Principal Lois E. Short. “The kids are smiling and so are we.”
As for contract negotiations between the School Committee and the Burrillville Teachers Association, a bargaining session held Tuesday night failed to produce an agreement before the start of the new school year. The sides have been working with state-appointed mediator, Bruce Kogen, but are still unable to get beyond in impasse over wage proposals. The union is proposing a three-year pact with annual raises averaging about 2.5 percent. The School Committee says it can’t afford wage increases that high.
The BTA has been working without a contract since September 2007. Just before the start of school last year, teachers called a three-day strike, which delayed the start of the school year. Calling the move illegal, the district asked a Superior Court judge to order the teachers back to work. The order was issued, but teachers skirted the directive by voluntarily returning to work just hours earlier.
Last year, the union invoked a “work to rule” order, which means teachers only fulfill the basic requirements of their contract. It was not clear yesterday, whether the union planned to invoke that order again this year.
Both BTA President David Sheehan and Thomas Landry, a BTA consultant, could not be reached for comment yesterday. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 29 August 2008 )
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