Continuing the conversation on the teacher’s contract negotiation.
How long do parents and other residents think these great teachers will stay in Newton when starting salaries for Teachers with a Master’s Degree, and the debt that it required, are lower than many other districts, wage packages continue to be low and teachers are not shown the respect they deserve but are still teaching without a signed contract? Skilled teachers leave Newton regularly.
Why is it OK for Mayor Fuller to issue publicly a letter to the Newton Teachers Association about Contract Negotiations when 1) It isn’t her job as she is just a member of the School Committee- it belongs with the School Committee as a whole or at least it’s Chair, 2) All Collective Bargaining is generally confidential and 3) She tells the teachers that there is fixed amount of money in the budget for education – but she spends substantial public money on projects she wants done.
Why is it OK for our valuable teachers and other public employees to be told basically to “suck it up” and take what they’re offered when there seems to be unlimited public funds available for other things? Or for these same public employees – who are more valuable to Newton than the mayor or the city council – to work without a contract as they are doing now? Or for the city council to vote themselves and the mayor and school committee raises while out teachers work without a contract?
Why is OK for Mayor Fuller and the city council to spend vast sums of public money on
1. no-bid contacts, for contacted services for both the Washington Street Vision Plan and her pet project – a new Whatever Center? Especially when she ignores the recommendations of the contracted services?
2. Attempting to obtain Webster Woods from BC by (friendly) Eminent Domain – meaning, Newton will have to pay fair market value for the property.
3. A new Whatever Center, which was to be a new Senior Center but has morphed into a three story Athletic Center with a full sized gym including retractable bleachers and above it a walking track/a Community Center for all of Newton to use for various things/an indoor-outdoor full-sized pool, when all that was requested was a new Senior Center.
There is no way to know at this point how much the above will cost but it is definitely millions upon millions that was not in this “fixed budget.”
Why is it OK for the mayor to essentially tell the city council how to vote on her pet issues? In the first month of being in office, she decided Newton should be allowed to vote on having marijuana retail stores in Newton and put in her newsletter before the council had voted, a “Let’s Vote” column. This overstepping by the executive branch has continued throughout her “reign.”
Plainly the above are not OK!!!
Why are we continuing to allow these things to happen?
Do we have no recourse but to vote her out next election season?
It is OK for her to do these these things because, “plainly,” some of us actually feel these are, if not the right things to do, then at least they represent reasonable policy decisions which balance the many and varied needs of the population of Newton in the face of resource constraints. In other words, the Mayor actions are “plainly” in error to at most a subset of the city.
And yes, elections are generally the way we express our opinions concern the suitability of our officials. It is surprising to me that those with the ability to generate threads on this site are not necessarily familiar with the democratic process. I guess it’s the times in which we live.
Totally agree with you Marty. Not OK at all. Hugely disappointed in the Mayor for her lack of leadership on the teacher contract issue.
Sorry mispelled your name Marti!
It’s no secret here that I’ve never been a fan of Ruthanne Fuller. But when she was elected, I remember thinking to myself “oh, it probably won’t be so bad.” But I can’t express how unhappy I’ve been with her as mayor so far. My initial concerns were the schools and outsourcing custodians. And I was right.
As for development, I think we do need some fresh new development in Newton, but Ruthanne Fuller’s approach comes across as really shady to me. I don’t think she’s being honest with constituents.
In addition to everything Marti listed, there’s something else that I’ve really missed that was part of the Warren administration: the Picnic and Play at the Park events. As a mom of young kids, we loved these events where they’d have things like kite making, potato sack races, free Italian ice or free Cabot’s. Now Fuller does one Red Sox-themed one a year and it’s really poorly promoted. Same with the Summer Reading program at the library where Setti Warren was actively involved in that. It’s also poorly promoted and nobody I know seemed to know about the celebration at the end. These are not issues along the same lines as our teachers working without a contract, the NewCAL fiasco, etc. However, to me it sends the message that Ruthanne Fuller doesn’t have a focus on community building. The only time I see Fuller at events is so she can pose for photos.
I look forward to voting her out, but sadly she can do a lot of damage before that. I worry about our schools.
Really well written. I fear daily for our national government and where I used to feel confident, I fear daily for our local government as well. Does Ruthanne want to be re-elected? I’m starting to feel like there’s a nefarious plan or end game and she’s not worried about her popularity in the least. I don’t know anyone who’s happy with her. She’s a liar. She’s a bully. She’s a deflector. She’s not paying attention to what’s happening in this town and if an election were to take place tomorrow, exactly who would rally around her? Everyone appreciate the teachers, Ruthanne. No one wants to see them working without a contract. The seniors were asking for a senior center. The town was not asking for a new community center. You are not listening to your constituents but they are watching you.
By the way, the teacher’s contract issue remains a school committee issue. Full stop. Village14 has attracted a new group of School Committee disciples that are ardent fans of certain school committee members and strong critics of the mayor. This type of cognitive dissonance is interesting to observe but hurts the very teachers they are trying to support. Ask the teachers who they hold responsible.
I support the teachers.
They deserve to be paid competitively with our peer communities. Any less is wrong for our educators, wrong for our kids’ educations, and wrong for Newton.
Casey, I feel like I would fit the description of your last paragraph. We are well aware who the ultimately responsible part for the teacher contract resolution is (btw, isn’t the Mayor a member of the school committee as well)? We also know who the teachers blame. So no cognitive resonance, but thanks for asking :).
Marti
Amen! Thank you. 16 unions without a contract. NewCal architect fees ($400K) and feasibility study ($150K) out of cash account .. A zillion$ on legal fees to get Webster Woods.
Anyone see a pattern here? Flashy building outlays before people? Pay your people first. First rule of business. This is mismanagement. This is NOT fiscally sound because budgets are being made without the labor piece quantified. If my CEO did this I would fire them.
@Casey you say “By the way, the teacher’s contract issue remains a school committee issue. Village14 has attracted a new group of School Committee disciples…” Are you actually advocating that the many moms & taxpayers stay off Village 14?? Are you saying diversity is not welcome on Village 14? (Looking at the masthead, I may draw that conclusion.)
I am a school parent & taxpayer and have every right, constitutional and otherwise to ask my school committee representatives wth they are doing with my money. I still haven’t got a straight answer from anyone! The Mayor’s office points to the SC, the SC points to the Mayor. I know that’s politics, but it is my issue too.
Transparency is a huge issue in Newton and we are not going to be quiet about it. Trying to categorize the new voices on here in one lump category is some form of “ism,” maybe two.
Not sure if you noticed, but I believe the school issue has attracted the most number and diversity of comments.
I would hope you would welcome a diversity of voices and here and elsewhere in Newton. We have been sitting passively on the sidelines for TOO LONG.
PS : 16 unions without a contract!