Superintendent Taylor Responds on GRPS Teachers...

Yesterday, I posted a short piece in support of Grand Rapids Public School teachers, who have begun teaching this school year without a contract and who are hoping to win some pay raises in the current contract negotiations. It appeared that the school board was not being forthright about its resources during the negotiations, media reports indicated.

I also mentioned that I had written a short e-mail to GRPS Superintendent Bernard Taylor asking him to bargain in good faith and alerting him to the fact that my kids are students in GRPS and that I support the teachers. Quality education begins with fair treatment of our kids' teachers in terms of pay and working conditions, I said. Seems obvious, right?

So I opened my e-mail this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see a prompt reply from Superintendent Taylor.

I was also surprised by how Superintendent Taylor emphasized the "illegality" of a job action by the teachers and tried to drive a wedge between the teachers and their bargaining reps in the union. "Teacher strikes are illegal, and we hope that the union would never ask their members to take part in an illegal activity," he wrote.

It seemed to me that the emphasis of the e-mail was not on how he would make a personal effort to ensure the School Board would work hard to bargain in good faith, or to see that a fair settlement beneficial to all sides is reached. In fact, Superintendent Taylor seemed to put all the responsibility for a fair resolution on the union. "My hope is that the union will continue to work with the district to find a common solution," he wrote.

This is not the statement of a manager who wants to bring all sides to the table to discuss the issues in a fair manner and reach a conclusion that is agreeable to all sides.

Indeed, there is something very divisive and even threatening about this response, which is uncalled for.

Let me just say that I do not doubt Superintendent Taylor's commitment to our schools, but I am skeptical of how he is going about it in this case. I personally disagree with Superintendent Taylor's apparent decision to take such a hard stance against the teachers.

A public schools superintendent, as a public servant, should view his or her role as a partner with teachers, administrators, and parents to create a quality system of education; not as an employer who has to hold back on information about how much public funds are available to provide pay raises for richly deserving teachers.

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