Two Sides of a Tarnished Coin in Teachers' Contract Wrangling

Since there were very few parents at last Tuesday night’s BOE meeting, let me set the scene for all of you visual learners.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

• A roiling red sea of angry teachers

• Three brave students, all rising seniors, all angry as well

• The Board of Education, heretofore known as Mount Rushmore for their stony countenance.

• Mark Morgan and Carol Anne Murray, producers of the Moorestown Theater Company and parents of two children in the district.

• Me, a lowly columnist, fed up with the shenanigans on both sides of the contract impasse.

I missed the MEA parade two Fridays ago, when they donned their red shirts (I hope they each have more than one!) and protested on Main Street. I do so love a good parade filled with laughter and cotton candy and flags, don’t you? But this was not your run-of-the-mill small town procession. This was a mass of misguided teachers, protesting the fact that the BOE refuses to meet with them to resolve their contract dispute. Talk about teaching moments!

Fed up not only with the strong-arm tactics of the MEA president, but with the BOE as well, I felt compelled to attend the board meeting on June 25. My children may no longer go to school in Mo’town, but I am still a tax-paying citizen with an opinion. I felt that it was my duty to be at that meeting, especially after hearing that the high school teachers were once again denying rising seniors their college letters of recommendation.

The first time I became aware of this despicable practice was when my oldest son was a rising senior (2007) and the teachers were in full rebellion mode with signs in their cars and black shirts on their backs. Many of the teachers were refusing to write college letters of recommendation. Others were saying that they’d write letters, but only if the parents supported their cause with the BOE.

I kept my big mouth shut because I had a younger son moving through the grades and didn’t want him to be marginalized because of me. Let’s be brutally honest here. Most of us do exactly the same thing—which is nothing. We are too worried about retribution to carp about the teacher who taught from a seated position all year, assigning her class to read while she perused the Pottery Barn catalog on her computer.

“It’s all about the kids” takes on a whole new meaning when their teachers are holding the children of Moorestown hostage. Who needs this kind of hypocrisy? And what kind of teaching moment is this? “We’re really here for you kids, but we’re going to use you like pawns in our little game with the BOE.” The teachers who are doing this should be ashamed of themselves and the other teachers should not condone these bullying tactics.

I went into that meeting loaded for bear and it seems that we were all on the same page. Angry teachers, angry administrators, angry board, angry students, angry paraprofessionals, it was a standing room only Theater of the Absurd. The first teacher that spoke was a young woman who said she was from Mt. Laurel but didn’t remember her address. She spoke rapidly about being “active listeners” then sat down. I don’t think anyone was listening.

Harry Lewis, one of several rising seniors from the 2014 class, took the microphone and expressed his disappointment in the teachers who were withholding letters of recommendation. Another rising senior, Sophia Gamber, stood up and scolded the teachers and board members alike, telling them to “talk it out and be adults.” I have nothing but admiration for those two young people, having the guts to stand up and tell it like it is, knowing that it might be held against them.

MEA president-for-life Lisa Trapani made a rambling speech that touched briefly on two cancelled meetings with the BOE before going into a PR blitz on the state of the economy. “Houses are selling! People are getting raises and bonuses!” I found myself wondering how much the Obama administration was paying her to be their economic cheerleader. I also wondered if she would like to pay my family’s $1,400 a month health insurance premium, which does NOT, incidentally, include rides in ambulances.

Lest I sound as if I’m against the teachers, I will own up to having a girl crush on Bridget Potts, the Roberts teacher who stood up and slammed the BOE with a well-planned, well-researched speech about “value.” Props to Ms. Potts for her performance. She made her point without being strident, and what a point it was! The BOE values themselves far more than it does the teachers, according to Ms. Potts. In my humble opinion, this woman should be president.

Let’s face it. We live in a world where professional athletes and idiots like Tom Cruise make millions of dollars each year while teachers just scrape by. We entrust our children to teachers who don’t just teach the three R’s anymore. They teach manners, they deal with broken families, custody disputes, teaching to the test and bullying. They ARE grossly underpaid, no doubt, but they go into teaching knowing full well that salaries are low. It seems rather disingenuous to complain about it after the fact.

The most peculiar moment of the evening came when Rick Williams, anchorman, actor, parent and resident, rushed in at the end of the public comment portion of the meeting with a plug for the Moorestown Theater Company. (The MTC is having their own monetary issues with the intransigent Mt. Rushmore-like BOE). The mostly female audience of crimson laughed appreciatively at his cameo appearance before switching back into warrior mode.  

I must say that I was disappointed by the lack of interest on the part of the parents. Some parents I spoke to, after the meeting, voiced a fatigue with the “War Between Acronyms.” One mom told me I could use her quote as long as I didn’t identify her.

"You know, maybe this isn't a whole problem between the teachers and the BOE. Maybe this is about how the leadership of the MEA and the BOE have such bad blood between them that this is creating an atmosphere where they can't negotiate.”

Let’s hope that the parties involved take the hint and settle down for some productive talks. And maybe both sides of the dispute need new leadership. From the audience response, I nominate Rick Williams.

About this column: Marsia Mason's column about life and issues in Moorestown appears biweekly on Mondays.