Administrators’ Contract—

Pending Arbitration Brings School Bd/Council Friction

By John Voket

Before convening to a closed executive session Wednesday evening, Newtown Legislative Council members learned the Board of Education may seek to subpoena District 1 Representative Richard Recht, in an attempt to force him to justify the council’s recent rejection of a school district administrator’s contract. Council Chairman William Rodgers admitted he remains surprised by the 8-1 vote against accepting the contract as submitted, but maintains that Mr Recht, who was invited to sit in on the original contract negotiations as an observer, has no place now that the arbitration process is transpiring.

“The Board of Education is trying to pervert the [arbitration] process by making us negotiators,” Mr Rodgers told The Bee following the executive session.

During and after the Wednesday evening council meeting, Mr Rodgers also took issue with Board of Education members who requested a memo from the council explaining why its members rejected the contract, which School Superintendent Evan Pitkoff said was “negotiated in good faith.” After polling each member of the council on the vote, he issued the memo as a courtesy because there was little specific discussion over which contested intricacies of the proposal inspired or incited the council to reject the contract.

Mr Rodgers suggested that school board representatives, who are responsible for delivering the final contract proposal for a council vote, appeared to be trying to use the memo as a means of illustrating negotiating points the town wants to see in the final contract.

“We were very careful in that memo to say why we voted no, but the arbitration team is now trying to make [the council] the bad guys, and to suggest we wanted unrealistic things [in the contract],” Mr Rodgers said. “But everyone on the council is fully aware of the consequences of asking for unrealistic low numbers in an arbitration — you get hammered.”

The council chairman maintains that, except for serving as observers, council members and other non Board of Education observers should have no role in the current arbitration.

“We’re not putting forth anything; that’s up to the negotiating team,” Mr Rodgers said.

He further defended Mr Recht’s status as an observer only, decrying the fact that there now seems to be a “difference of opinion” over what his role actually was during the original contract negotiations.

“The [Board of Education] said they treated him as an observer in actual negotiation sessions, but in spirit, he was a [participating] member of the team,” Mr Rodgers said. “But Board of Finance members who also participated were emphatic that they were treated and regarded as observers only.”

Mr Rodgers said the Board of Education may have incorrectly assumed the contract approval was a done deal because observers did not speak up during negotiations.

“But we weren’t supposed to speak up…those are the rules,” he said. “Now the arbitration team wants to bring Mr Recht back as a full member of the team, and speak for the council as to what they would like to see in the contract.

“All the council did was vote down the proposed contract. What we want isn’t important now that the process has come this far, it’s binding arbitration,” Mr Rodgers said.

 “I don’t want the people of Newtown to think the council voted oblivious to the process or the possible results of the binding decision. Each council member reviewed, and was mindful of, all aspects of the contract.” Mr Rodgers said. “You have to infer that they were looking at the bigger picture and made a statement: that we have to reel in these contracts and take a tighter look at how the taxpayers’ money is being spent.”