April 2021 V.55 N.1
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MASC Bulletin www.masc.org April 2021 v.55 n.1 Massachusetts Association of School Committees MASC (virtual) DAY ON THE HILL: Friday, April 16 ay on the Hill is MASC’s Ways and Means Committee), the annual legislative advo- Massachusetts Association of School Committees dialogue will include highlights Day on the Hill 2021 (virtual) cacy day. Typically, this Friday, April 16 • 9:00am-noon of the Administration’s newly an- D nounced American Rescue Plan event brings hundreds of school and the dollars that will be com- committee members, superinten- FROM PANDEMIC TO PROGRESS: dents and student leaders to the What have we lost? What have we learned? What can we build upon? ing to school districts to help with State House in Boston to meet recovery initiatives. with the executive and legisla- Invited legislators include: tive leadership as well as local Senate President Karen Spilka (a Join your school leader senators and representatives. It is colleagues and legislators to former member of the Ashland discuss funding meaningful School Committee); House Speak- a critical opportunity for MASC recovery strategies for our members to advance the message Massachusetts school communities. er Ron Mariano (a former member of the value of public education of the Quincy School Committee); and ensure that legislators and other and how to allocate funding to support Education Committee Co-Chairs: Sena- key decision/policy makers understand learning loss and social/emotional reme- tor Jason Lewis and Representative Alice the issues and challenges that you con- diation and move forward with lessons Peisch (a former member of the Welles- front and that they can support. learned from the Covid crisis. ley School Committee) among others. New this year—which follows The The focus of this year’s event: What Mark your calendars for Friday, April Year Like No Other—is that MASC will we have lost? What have we learned? 16, 9:00am-Noon. There is no charge host the Day on the Hill program via What can we build upon? will be dis- to attend but we ask that you register in zoom. The Board of Directors invites cussed in conjunction with MASC’s advance so we can send you the sign-on all school committee members and recently released 2021 legislative pri- link and background materials. other school leaders to join legislators orities (listed on page 6). Moderated REGISTER NOW at: https://www. and other key education and fiscal by MASC President Ellen Holmes (who masc.org/events-and-conferences-2/day- policymakers in a conversation about recently presented educationally and on-the-hill. moving forward from the pandemic fiscally compelling testimony to the Joint Department of Labor Relations rules in favor Mashpee and Norton of Melrose School Committee in determining School Districts Receive educational model National School Boards Summary prepared by Steven Finnegan, Esq., MASC General Counsel Association Magna This decision offers a brief summary of the 11-page Department of Labor Relations Awards (DLR) opinion, and wherever possible uses the language found in the opinion. The Two MA public school districts (Mash- full DLR opinion may be found on the DLR website. Districts should consult their pee and Norton) are among the re- Legal Counsel for further information. cipients of the National School Boards MASC finds that the DLR Melrose Decision provides needed clarity to districts Association 2021 Magna Awards. won one that likely will face similar issues in the near future. Mashpee Public Schools of the three Grand Prize awards (under On December 21, 2020, the Melrose Education Association (MEA) filed two 5,000 enrollment category) for its com- charges with the Department of Labor Relations (DLR) alleging that the School mitment to equity as reflected in the Committee had violated Section 10(a)(5) and Section 10(a)(1) of Mass General Laws, district’s Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Chapter 150E by repudiating the parties Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Partnership. Norton Public Schools won continued on page 2 continued on page 3 MASC 2021 Board of Directors Melrose School Committee EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE continued from page 1 President: B. Ellen Holmes, Ashburnham Westminster Reg. At the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, the President-Elect: Andrea Wadsworth, Lee Melrose Public Schools provided in-person instruction for Vice President: Stacey Rizzo, Revere Secretary-Treasurer: Mildred Lefebvre, Holyoke high-needs students; remote instruction for grades 2 through Immediate Past President: Deborah Davis, Northeast 12; and hybrid instruction for kindergarten and first grade Metro Voc. Tech. students. On October 19, 2020 the School Committee com- menced hybrid instruction for grades 2-12. DIVISION OFFICERS The MEA filed a grievance at step 2, asserting that con- Division I tractual language was not followed and is in violation of the Chair: Beverley Griffin Dunne, Peabody/Essex Tech. MOA between the Committee and the MEA generally and Vice Chair: Mary Jane Byrnes, Wilmington specifically, as it relates to Community Metrics. As a remedy, the MEA sought that the schools move to a fully remote Division II learning model for all and continue with that model until Chair: Marc Terry, Ashland the “metrics meet the agreed upon MOA benchmarks for a Vice Chair: Roberto Jimenez Rivera, Chelsea return to in-person instruction.” The MEA asserts that the Secretary-Treasurer: Francis Parker, Everett Committee violated the Law by failing to provide the MEA Division III with notice and the opportunity to bargain over both the Chair: Jason Fraser, Silver Lake Reg. decision to make the change to the MOA and the impacts of Vice Chair: Kim Savery, Plymouth that change. Secretary-Treasurer: Barbara Davis, Holbrook In contrast, the School Committee maintains that it did not violate the Law as alleged. The Committee contends Division IV that the clear language of the MOA gives the Superinten- Chair: Michelle Bodin-Hettinger, Marlborough dent discretion in making decisions regarding the learning Vice Chair: Heidi Matthews, Marlborough Secretary-Treasurer: Laura Often, Grafton method. The Committee believing that the decision about whether to offer instruction through an in-person, remote Division V or hybrid model is a core managerial decision that is not Chair: Laura Fallon, Northampton negotiable, instead proposed that the Superintendent had Vice Chair: Wendy Rua, Agawam discretion in determining which learning model was used. Secretary-Treasurer: William Fonseca, East Longmeadow The final agreement provides for the Superintendent to con- Division VI sider various factors but gives her discretion to make the final Chair: William Cameron, Pittsfield decision. In any case, DLR found that the Superintendent Vice Chair: Jason St. Peter, Berkshire Hills Reg. had full discretion to decide whether to revert to fully remote Secretary-Treasurer: Stephen Bannon, Berkshire Hills Reg. Instruction, and she did not repudiate the MOA when she did not revert to fully remote instruction in December. Division VII DLR held that the Superintendent had full discretion to Chair: Nicole Bartlett decide whether to revert to fully remote instruction, and she Vice Chair: Phillip Morris, Dennis-Yarmouth did not repudiate the MOA when she did not revert to fully Secretary-Treasurer: Andrea Thorrold, Falmouth remote instruction in December. DLR found that the MOA Division VIII was ambiguous, and that the bargaining history does not Chair: Donald Erickson, BayPath Reg. Voc. Tech. sufficiently clarify the parties’ intent. Therefore, DLR did Vice Chair: Lynn Ryan, Assabet Reg. Voc. Tech. not find probable cause to believe that the School Commit- Secretary-Treasurer:Peggy Ayres, Assabet Reg. Voc. Tech. tee repudiated the MOA and dismissed that portion of the charges. Division IX Furthermore, the Committee argued that the decision as Chair: Irene Feliciano-Sims, Holyoke to which educational model to utilize is one of those core Vice Chair: Andre Green, Somerville governmental decisions. It is the School Committee that Joshua Amaral, New Bedford Secretary-Treasurer: establishes educational policies for the district, consistent Division X with the requirements of law and the statewide goals and At the January 2021 Board of Directors meeting, the standards established by DESE G. L. c. 71, S. 37. The Su- Board voted unanimously to recognize the Minority Cau- perintendent is vested with all operational decisions for the cus as a formal Division X of the Association. District and is required to manage the system in the manner Chair: Virginia Simms George, Assabet Reg. Voc. Tech. that is consistent with state law and the policy determina- Vice Chair: LaTonia Naylor, Springfield tions and the policy decisions of the Committee. G.L.c.71, S. Secretary-Treasurer: Denise Hurst, Springfield 52. School Committee of Newton v. Newton School Custo- dians, Local 454, SEIU, 438 Mass. 739, 746-748 (2003). Mashpee and Norton receive NSBA award PEOPLE IN THE NEWS continued from page 1 students need and also identifying Mildred Lefebvre, a member of the a First Place award for its Priority One: opportunities to educate non-native Holyoke School Committee who also Social-Emotional Learning program. students and our staff about the Mash- serves on the MASC Board of Direc- The Magna Awards go to school pee Wampanoag culture, language and tors as Secretary-Treasurer, has been districts that advance equity and break heritage.” re-elected as Northeast Region Di- down barriers for underserved stu- The Norton School District Social- rector of the National School Board dents. Mashpee was honored for its Emotional Learning Initiative which Association’s National Hispanic school committee’s working partner- received a First Place award was sup- Caucus (NHC). ship with the Mashpee Wampanoag ported by the School Committee and The NHC promotes quality educa- Tribe. The partnership has helped cre- administration in conjunction with the tion for all students, with a focus on ate an inclusive district that recognizes local teachers association. According equity—building access and closing to the district, the rationale was simple: and celebrates Wampanoag heritage the gap on learning and achieve- Strong minds will lead to success in the and culture.