Poll: Should Teachers Be Hired Based on Seniority or Performance?

A hearing has been scheduled with the state Labor Board for Dec. 15. The Labor Board will address the issue involving teacher hiring practices.

The State Labor Relations Board will take up the issue of teacher hiring practices in Portsmouth after a judge ruled in favor of teachers. A hearing is now scheduled for Dec. 15.  Last Wednesday, a Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the teachers' unions, which argued the issue must be taken to the State Labor Board, reported The Providence Journal.  At issue, being debated between the Portsmouth School Committee and the Portsmouth National Education Association (NEA), is whether teachers should be hired based on seniority or criteria established by the school board.  "It (the judge's decision) wasn't a surprise to me," said School Committee member Dave Croston on Monday.  The school committee must now decide whether or not to seek an …

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Teachers' Union, School Committee Approve New 3-Year Contract

The school department and NEA Portsmouth reach a three-year agreement for fiscal years 2010-2013.

After an exhaustive series of negotiations since June of 2010, including time in mediation and arbitration, the Portsmouth School Committee and the National Education Association (NEA) Portsmouth reached a three-year agreement for fiscal years 2010-2013 Tuesday night. The deal was approved during the school committee meeting held in the Portsmouth High School auditorium.    Although both school staff in the audience and committee members applauded the unanimous vote to approve the motion, the contract does not come without a cost. The cumulative cost of the new contract over the three years is $983,871, which includes retroactive pay increases. The cost of retirement benefits is expected to triple over the life of the contract, from an …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Portsmouth School Committee Leading State in Seniority Issue

Portsmouth Republicans defend teacher placement as a bipartisan issue.

Change you can believe in. That was the mantra of the Democratic campaign led by Barack Obama in 2008. Integral in this change effort was an effort to replace the antiquated seniority system as a mechanism for advancing the competitiveness of our educational system.   Secretary of Education Arne Duncan believes that the seniority and tenure rules are a system designed to put the needs of adults ahead of children. Leading the efforts to bring Portsmouth’s educational system to a higher level of competitiveness is our own newly-elected Republican led School Committee chaired by Cynthia Perrotti. Working together with colleagues from the Democratic Party, our local school committee is leading the state by standing firm on the national effort …

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Portsmouth School Committee Files Complaint Against Teachers' Union

The Portsmouth School Committee and the teachers' union are fighting over a new policy that replaces seniority promotions with performance promotions.

The Portsmouth School Committee filed a complaint Tuesday against the teachers' union, National Education Association (NEA) Portsmouth, in Superior Court. The complaint was filed as part of an ongoing dispute between management and workers over how the workers should be promoted. The school administration has switched to a promotion system based on employee performance. Previously, and per an expired union contract, employees were promoted based on seniority in the district. The school department's new staffing regulation is Policy 4111 Selection and Appointment of School Personnel. It was adopted on April 12 despite strong oppostion from the union. According to the complaint filed this week, "Prior to the adoption of the new policy and …

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