Aimie Randall, the new conservative candidate, announced her intention to run for the district’s school board, seeking to fill outgoing conservative board member Donna Rice’s seat.
The Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its local Thompson Education Association (TEA) affiliate are now going after the board’s attorney, Brad Miller.
“The open meetings law requires that when three or more members meet and public business is discussed, the meeting must be open to the public at all times,” said Brad Miller, the attorney for the Thompson school board.
Audience members compared Kerrigan, who called for innovation in the contract, to Adolph Hitler, and shouted “Long live the king.”
If the rumor of a mass student walkout planned for multiple high schools in the Thompson School District is true, its organizers have done a good job of keeping it
At issue for Kerrigan, Carlson, and Rice was the belief that the district’s negotiating team had not followed the direction the board had set. Based on consensus guidance given at the April 1 meeting, a majority of the board members wanted to move ahead with negotiation on moving many items currently in the contract into a handbook, piloting a pay-for-performance model in 2016-17, and looking into having teachers share a part of the rising costs of retirement and insurance benefits.
When asked about the often raucous behavior of union members and supporters, the president of the Thompson Education Association responded that while he often reminds his members to act professionally at meetings, “Passions will be passions.” The statement is hardly a ringing condemnation of current behavior, nor is it a clear call for more civilized proceedings.
“It was not more aggressive at this meeting,” Board Vice President Bryce Carlson said. “But just given the nature of where we are in negotiations, tensions are high. This was the first time I was escorted. I certainly would hope that kind of thing is not necessary.”
Collective bargaining this year in Thompson School District already has gotten downright ugly as the board attempts to provide more specific guidance to its negotiating team. With the Colorado Education Association directly entering the fray, it looks like things are about to get even uglier.
Complete Colorado has learned that a new petition requesting the Thompson school board to “reconsider” changes to the district’s collective bargaining agreement is being run by the Colorado Education Association (CEA)…. Many of the petition’s signatures are anonymous, and some are duplicates.
