Adult education staff and students flag staffing, custodial and compensation concerns as board moves to mediation

At the March 18 meeting of the Portland Board of Public Education, an hourly instructor at Portland Adult Education and a student representative raised staffing, compensation and facilities concerns, and the board earlier moved into executive session to consult counsel and to discuss Portland Adult Education negotiations.

Lucy Schulman, an hourly teacher at Portland Adult Education who identified herself as a North Deering resident, told the board she and colleagues were "really surprised to hear that the school board chose to pull the plug on negotiations and file for mediation, rather than make a good faith attempt to collaborate." She criticized what she called a "two-cast system of compensation" and warned that pay inequities would harm the district’s ability to recruit and retain staff. "At adult ed, despite our overwhelmingly African student population, only 4 teachers out of nearly 60 are people of color," she said.

Student Representative Julie Dove Quintiba described the scale of programming at Portland Adult Education, listing workforce-development courses such as CNA certified nursing assistant training, child development associate, and medical-assistant pre-apprenticeships. Quintiba said the program offers "45 ESOL classes every term," serves "about 300 to 340 students and staff coming in and out" daily, and has a waiting list of roughly 1,900 people for ESOL classes; she also said the building "has not had a regular custodian for several months." "Parking makes it difficult to attend class on time," she added.

Why it matters: Portland Adult Education serves adult learners seeking diplomas, English-language instruction and career training; staffing, custodial and pay issues can affect program access and student safety, the speakers told the board.

The public remarks followed the board’s earlier motion to enter two executive sessions. Chair Lentz moved "for the consideration action to enter into executive session pursuant to 1 MRSA 4056 e to consult with legal counsel" and then moved to enter executive session "pursuant to 1 MRSA 40560 to discuss Portland adult education negotiations." Board member Lina seconded the motion. The roll call vote was announced as six in favor. The board left the public meeting for executive session and later returned; no public record of decisions from those executive sessions was disclosed in open session.

Board members asked limited follow-up questions during the public-comment period; the superintendent confirmed personnel matters relating to custodial staffing could not be discussed in public session. The budget discussion later in the meeting referenced a proposed fourth custodian float that had been included in the draft budget; the superintendent said if reductions were needed the district could consider not adding that fourth float but noted that would be a change to the proposed budget rather than a cut to existing staffing.

No formal contract or negotiation outcomes were reported in open session. Public commenters signaled they expect further advocacy and said they would continue communicating with the board.