Board of Education President Melissa Ellis and Superintendent of Schools George Arlotto today released the following statement in the wake of ongoing claims from Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County (TAAAC) President Russell Leone.
“As a school system, we have long prided ourselves on upholding the principle that good-faith efforts related to collective bargaining are best epitomized by sessions directly involving the parties with no undue outside influence. It is important to remember in this discussion that there is a distinction between our awesome, hard-working teachers and the leadership of TAAAC, their bargaining unit with which the Board is legally obligated to negotiate. However, in the wake of a torrent of specious claims and overreaching characterizations aimed purely at evoking emotion, we can no longer be silent.
As such, we offer the following to set the record straight:
CLAIM: “Stop the wage discrimination: Settle the FY22 contract with TAAAC NOW.”
REALITY: The Board is not engaged in “wage discrimination” or any other discrimination against TAAAC. As Mr. Leone is well aware, the Board does not have the authority to unilaterally give raises to employees and there is no agreement at this time with TAAAC that determines how Unit I employees will be paid in the 2021-2022 school year. Since February, the Board has bargained in good faith with TAAAC in an attempt to negotiate terms for a FY22 contract, which includes a significant compensation increase for Unit I employees. Based upon the parties’ inability to reach an agreement on their own and State law requirements, TAAAC initiated impasse proceedings – thus ending negotiations – with the Public School Labor Relations Board. The Board remains hopeful that an agreement will be reached during mediation at which time Unit I employees will receive agreed upon compensation.
CLAIM: “Negotiate with TAAAC: End unilaterally changing the terms and conditions of employment, especially around workload and safety, without negotiating NOW.”
REALITY: Similar to districts across the region and State, AACPS continues to experience difficulties as we navigate the operation of schools during a pandemic. While new initiatives have been implemented to address the impact of COVID in our schools, the Board has not made unilateral changes regarding the terms and conditions of employment relating to workload and safety. There have been continued efforts to meet and advise TAAAC regarding the status of working conditions of Unit I employees, which include standing weekly meetings, an advisory group involving TAAAC, and meetings with the TAAAC executive director and others. Safety protocols are and have always been consistent with professional and expert recommendations of local and state health officials, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). AACPS’ goal remains to keep students and staff safe while keeping schools open. As Mr. Leone is well aware, not every aspect of the workday is negotiable and there are simply things that have to get done and adjustments that have to be made to meet changing conditions and circumstances. As Superintendent, Dr. Arlotto is authorized, indeed obligated, to make these operational decisions.
CLAIM: “Alleviate out of control workloads: Eliminate unreasonable requirements in maintaining an LMS, and preserve individual planning time NOW.”
REALITY: It is indisputable that more is being asked from all AACPS employees, students, and families as we continue to navigate through our “new normal.” While TAAAC does not seemingly appreciate the value of Brightspace, this new learning management system provides an awesome opportunity to enhance teacher communication with students and families by utilizing dynamic dashboards to provide easy access to lessons, assignments, and assessed work/grades; track student progress; and support school-family connections. It is also an invaluable tool to help students and families connect to what is occurring within the classroom each day, especially when students may have to quarantine or miss school for other reasons. Countless hours of professional development have already been provided to staff to ease this transition; we will continue to make adjustments and provide additional training and supports.
CLAIM: “Support mental health: Implement counseling and other resources for students, employees, and families NOW.”
REALITY: Mental health in the AACPS community has always been and remains a priority. As Mr. Leone is well aware, AACPS offers a variety of valuable resources for students and employees. These include the Anne Arundel Mental Health Task Force established by the Board of Education; the prioritization of mental health positions in the budget to expand services; counseling services available to students in schools, which can also include trauma and crisis teams as needed; opportunities for relationship building, social-emotional growth, and learning support are offered through class time and Flex blocks; the addition of a 30-minute recess added this school year to create additional opportunities for elementary student socialization and play; activity and club time offered to middle and high school students; the establishment of the AACPS Wellness Council to provide resources, strategies, and monitoring tools to ensure that effective implementation of the AACPS Wellness Policy in order to increase the quality of life for all members of the educational community and to cultivate communities of wellness; and the AACPS Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which offers a free counseling benefit to all permanent employees and members of their households to assist with family, personal, or work-related problems. The fact that the EAP utilization rate has risen from 4.84% in 2019 to 7.55% this year is an indication that more employees are taking advantage of this valuable benefit.
CLAIM: “Provide full transparency to the community: Publicly explain past and ongoing usage of ARP (ESSERS I-III) and Blueprint funds to allow for feedback from the community.”
REALITY: The Board is fully transparent regarding the usage of AACPS ESSER I-III and The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future funding. In accordance with federal requirements, the Board has clearly outlined AACPS allocations from ESSER I and ESSER II funding as well as proposed allocated itemizations in the grant proposal for ESSER III funds. Feedback was sought from the AACPS community, including TAAAC and its members, and was included in AACPS’ grant proposal submission.
- Details regarding ESSER allocations can be found online here.
- Information about AACPS’ budget as it relates to The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future can be found in this year’s approved Operating & Capital Budget document (pages 14-23).
Our teachers – and all of our employees – have done amazing work since March 2020 repeatedly transforming the nature of the education we offer to our students. This has been a difficult road for everyone. Collaboration will help smooth that road, but Mr. Leone’s mischaracterization of the efforts on the part of the Board and Superintendent makes the road bumpier for the entire school community, especially our hard-working teachers.”