Concord Teachers and School Board Unable to Reach Agreement

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Nats (honking horns)

Concord teachers stand outside their union headquarters holding signs asking for a contract.
The union and the Concord school board are holding what teachers hope will be their final mediation session – it’s the 14th one they’ve had.
They still can’t reach an agreement over health benefits, salaries, and certain work conditions.
Debbie Walton, a kindergarten and first grade teacher at Conant Elementary School says she hears talks aren’t going well so far.

“This is my 30th year as a teacher, and I’ve been out here every three years, we just can’t seem to come to a fair and equitable settlement each time negotiations come to pass and it sure is disheartening”

It’s becoming disheartening to parents, school administrators and students as well.
(nat sound) 1238
At Walker Elementary School, some teachers are in the process of removing personal items from classrooms that they paid for with their own money.
2nd grade teacher Kathy Donavan has taped over shelves that hold books she’s bought - like police tape roping off an area.
She’s removed carpets, cushions for chairs, and lamps.
The 26 year veteran teacher says every collection bin in the room – and there are dozens – are hers.
(1233 :42 there’s a section in the middle of the room that’s covered up with paper, I have probably close to three or four thousand books in here that are personal property that I’ve bought over many many years.)

Donavan says students won’t have access to those books – or the almost 75-percent of the supplies in the classroom that she’s bought.
She says removing the items is difficult and not something she wants to do– but neither is teaching without a contract.
“1232 if you want to attract good teachers and keep good teachers you need to pay them well, and comparable to other school districts otherwise concord will lose a large body of teachers.”

3rd grade teacher Melissa Noise says she’s taken down her webpage and stopped writing the weekly newsletter to parents that describes the curriculum.
But she says the hardest part is explaining her actions to students.
1225 I explained to them that we’re not doing anything to harm them that we love them still and we want to do a good job but both sides are disagreeing and until there’s a decision reached some changes will be made

Parents are both sympathetic and angry.

Parent Linda Moulton says she’s really noticed a difference.

“Our teachers have always been very involved with our children, there’s various clubs and activities they’ve been very active in and they just can’t do it”

Despite teachers’ best efforts to explain why they’re removing items from classrooms, some kids still feel as if they’re being punished.
5th grader Emma Farrely.

I don’t really think this is fair to all the kids, because we can’t use any of his books, we can’t use his games, we can’t use a fourth computer that I love, its affecting our learning and its making it a whole lot worse.

The Concord Education Association, which represents about 400 teachers, say it’s not their intention to affect classroom learning.
CEA President Kerry Clock says they just want to make a statement.
He says so far, mediations are ongoing.
“There is still some critical issues there that need to be resolved, we feel they can be resolved frankly it’s in the board’s court right now, we’ve sent a proposal down we’re waiting to hear back from them.”
Clock says the union’s membership has authorized the negotiating team to call for a strike vote if mediations fail today.
School Board members were unavailable for comment – but Clock hopes it won’t come to that.
For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.