34 South Main St., Attleboro, MA - Directions - (508) 222-7000
cars | jobs | place an ad | subscribe
Home News Sports Features classifieds milestones services photos tvlistings cars jobs realestate subscribe
News

KP students plead for peace at school
BY STEPHEN PETERSON SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 2:52 AM EDT




Top Headlines
KP students plead for peace at school

Everybody into the pool, at long last

Driver, 85, has license revoked after accident

NA library could be open fewer hours

Rehoboth police to get chaplain

Print this story
Photo Reprints
RSS
Forums
 AddThis
Class president urges union, administration to settle issues
WRENTHAM - King Philip Regional High School students, who say they have been affected by the stalemate with the teachers' contract, are now taking an active role in the matter.

Daniel Galvin, president of the upcoming graduating class, appeared before the school committee Monday night, pleading with the parties to settle their sharp differences for the sake of students.

About 30 students, teachers and parents were present.

Galvin said his intention is not to berate either party, who have been involved in the heated dispute, but to let them know about the effect on students and their feelings.

Teachers had been readily available to students before and after school, but Galvin said that noticeably changed at the end of the school year. Teachers were later available to students for a limited time, he said. Increased availability is needed for students who take part in extracurricular activities, such as sports, or have after-school jobs, Galvin explained.

"Students risk grades, athletic activities and jobs," Galvin said.

Galvin also contended safety is an issue for lack of staff coverage at times.

"Students have free reign," he said, explaining that risks violence. "It must be corrected immediately."

Some teachers also have refused to chaperone events, the student said.

"Now we are lost," Galvin said of students. "I know the senior class had a tremendous difficulty finding chaperones for the prom."

He also said another school event had to be canceled for the first time because of a lack of chaperones.

School committee Chairman Pat Francomano had previously indicated the same about chaperoning, but representatives of the teachers association have said they are not aware of such action.

Furthermore, Galvin said some teachers have refused to give students written recommendations for colleges.

"This is vital to be accepted for college," Galvin said. "I implore you to find a common ground to reach an agreement," Galvin said.

In a related matter, school committee members unanimously voted against Superintendent Richard Robbat's recommendation to allow for staff who meet contractual requirements to move between salary schedules. The salary increments would have cost about $64,671.

School board members are seeking a wage freeze for the fiscal year, starting today. The teachers' contract expires Aug. 31.

STEPHEN PETERSON can be reached at 508-236-0377 or at speterson@thesunchronicle.com.
Return to Previous Page  


 


*Member ID:
*Password:
  Forgot Your Password?
 
View Comments » 6 comment(s) « Hide Comments

Post Your Comments

truluv wrote on Jul 1, 2009 8:21 PM:

" Curmudgeon - just a bit more information. Most of the people present at the meeting were teachers. Prior to Monday's meeting, only teachers were present with one exception where one resident came to the meeting prior to last. As to the 200 days, the classrooms are not air conditioned and while it is difficult to fathom, based on current weather patterns, last year the classrooms reached 92 degrees for a number of days. If you extend the school year, you are into a time frame where weather can create a dangerous situation in the classrooms and a situation that is not conducive to learning. I maintain that the more people that attend the meetings, the more informed people will be. It doesn't matter what your opinions about the current state at KPRS is, be present and enter into discussions. We all have a lot to learn from each other. "

Report Abuse

truluv wrote on Jul 1, 2009 8:14 PM:

" Curmudgeon - This is in response to some of your questions. The field house was scheduled for class comp. The capacity of the field house is less than the total student body so each class was limited to 200 tickets. In addition, some teachers were offering extra credit to attend a drama performance that night. The limited tickets and enticement of extra credit did that event in. The proposal by the SC for the new contract would eliminate the automatic increase that you are speaking of (step increase). The number of school days is set by the state, not the local district. Again, individual teachers may have made the recommendation statements but I do not know of anyone who did. Anyone that I have spoken to has not refused any recommendations at this time. As to the error in the budget article, I was unaware that a document had been provided to the reporter of information that was not presented orally at the meeting. The article cites the restoration of positions that were not listed at the meeting. My apologies. The science teacher position was not reinstated which means that some sections of science electives will be lost and class sizes will exceed the class size required by OSHA to run a lab. If a lab class exceeds 24 students, there are certain activities that cannot be performed by the students due to safety concerns. "

Report Abuse

curmudgeon wrote on Jul 1, 2009 7:49 PM:

" The union negotiation should be easy, KPSC has no ability to get any more money out of the taxpayers. So a wage freeze is in place plus school year should go to at least 200 days. Its time the public sector starts to feel the pain we have in the private sector.

Let's not forget that many teachers do get automatic raises until they reach a top step each year, they get paid more each year for just showing up. "

Report Abuse

curmudgeon wrote on Jul 1, 2009 7:45 PM:

" Thank you for some of the background. If the room was a factor why not move it to say the field house? Isn't that big enough?

You mention errors in the budget story, but fail to mention what they are. What are they?

Again if teachers fail to provide recommendations I think that is terrible. What happened to its for the children? "

Report Abuse

truluv wrote on Jul 1, 2009 7:02 PM:

" Dan stated that the event that was canceled was the class competition due to lack of student interest and a lack of chaperones. This is only partially true. All eight of the class advisers, the student council adviser and the administrators were scheduled to be at that event. The event was canceled because two days prior to the event only one senior class member and a handful of sophomores and freshman had signed up. Only the junior class was fully represented. Part of what kept students from signing up had to do with limits on the number of available tickets due to the room capacity which is set by the fire department. Also, finding chaperones for senior prom required some creative thinking, there were nineteen chaperones that made this a fun, safe and enjoyable event for the class of 2009. As to the recommendations, individual teachers have made this statement but this has not come from the union leadership or the negotiating team. There is a level of frustration on all sides and I agree with Dan's request for NEGOTIATIONS to begin. Mistakes have been made on all sides but it is time to clear the air and get down to business. Please note, however, that everything that Dan expressed as a concern are all the things that teachers do voluntarily on their own time. There were also a few reporting errors in yesterday's article about the budget meeting. "

Report Abuse

curmudgeon wrote on Jul 1, 2009 8:39 AM:

" "Furthermore, Galvin said some teachers have refused to give students written recommendations for colleges."

If this is in fact, those teachers should be terminated.

A school event being canceled due to lack of teacher involvement, and the teachers don't know anything about it? OK reporter where is the follow up on this? Should have been easy enough to ask what event.

A lot more questions in this story than facts. "

Report Abuse