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Newport teachers urge council to pressure district after alleged contract violations
Summary
Jennifer Bull, president of the Teachers Association of Newport, told the City Council that the district has moved teachers into roles they did not seek and removed intervention staff, alleging violations of the collective bargaining agreement and pleading with the council to press the superintendent and school committee to enforce the contract.
Jennifer Bull, president of the Teachers Association of Newport, told the City Council the district is breaking its contract and that recent personnel moves have stripped elementary schools of reading and behavioral interventions.
"The superintendent in Newport and other members of her district administration team are actively violating our current collective bargaining agreement," Bull said. She said the changes — moving teachers into positions they did not seek and reducing reading teachers and math interventionists — have already had a "very negative impact on many teachers and therefore it's going to have a negative impact on the students." Bull identified herself and gave her home address as part of the citizens forum presentation.
Bull urged the council and the public to encourage the superintendent and school committee to follow existing contracts, saying teachers are the "boots on the ground" who see students daily. The council did not take immediate action during the public-comment period; no district representative responded during the meeting. Bull asked the public and council members to intervene and said the Teachers Association would welcome follow-up conversations.
The council's agenda that night moved on to other items, but Bull's comments put teacher staffing and contract enforcement into the public record ahead of school and budget discussions expected later this year.
