Pilot articles: Negotiations between teacher's unions and cities or school boards

Boston Teachers Union positions on Pilot school contracts, by Richard Stutman, President of the BTU, in the BTU e-Bulletin.
This is the web page to read the latest official BTU thinking, written by union president Richard Stutman.

Undermining pilot schools, editorial in the Boston Globe, March 17, 2007.
The question is whether the teachers union will stick to their commitment to support new Pilot schools or will revert to obstructionism.

Entire museum school staff asks for transfer, by Kyle Alspach, in the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise, May 16, 2005.
In the first planned Pilot school outside of Boston, set to open in the fall, the faculty resigned en masse after being told they would have to re-apply with the transformation to Pilot status.

A clear road for pilot schools, by Scot Lehigh, op-ed in the Boston Globe, February 21, 2006.
Lehigh sees great hope and promise in the agreement between union and city on what Mayor Menino calls “my Pilots.” Seeing the Pilot autonomies essentially intact, Lehigh says, “It’s that autonomy over curriculum, budget, staffing, schedule, and governance that makes pilots one of the most important public-school experiments in the country.”

Correcting pilot error, editorial in the Boston Globe, February 17, 2006.
Editorial applauds the resolution of the BPS/BTU impasse, calls for creative ways to use the negotiated hours, including having longer school days for students, asks for additional, independent research on the effectiveness of Pilot Schools, and generally looks forward with some optimism.

City pact allows new pilot schools, one run by union, by Tracy Jan and Maria Sacchetti, in the Boston Globe, February 16, 2006.
The impasse between the teachers union and the school department was resolved yesterday, after more than a year of frozen Pilot School expansion, blocked by the union on the issue of overtime pay. A joyful Mayor Tom Menino said, “I have my pilots. That's what I need.”

Menino, union forge deal for new Hub pilot schools, By Marie Szaniszlo, in the Boston Herald, February 16, 2006.
The city/union impasse over Pilot School expansion has been resolved, with an agreement to allow seven new Pilot Schools, but with limits on uncompensated mandatory teacher overtime.

King speech no cause for boos, editorial in the Boston Herald, January 18, 2006.
Editorial notes the Pilot School study just released and bemoans the BTU’s opposition to expansion of Pilots.

Overtime still key issue for adding pilot schools, by Maria Sacchetti, in the Boston Sunday Globe, December 27, 2005.
“With only days before a deadline set by the mayor, the movement to expand Boston’s experimental pilot schools remains at a standstill, raising questions about whether Mayor Thomas M. Menino will make good on his pledge to push for more charter schools because he’s miffed by the lack of progress.”

Union blockade, by Scot Lehigh, op-ed in the Boston Globe, August 3, 2005
In a column on the Boston Teachers Union position on Pilot schools, Lehigh also notes in regard to Pilots: “Indeed, one of the most promising trends in education reform stresses schools that have real managerial autonomy and are flexible enough to meet the needs of their communities.”

On pilot school demand, no debate - Hennigan backs mayor’s stance on union pay request, By Michael Jonas, in the Boston Sunday Globe, May 8, 2005.
City Councilor Maura Hennigan, running against Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, asserts, “I am very strongly supportive of pilots.”

Test of wills on pilot schools, by Scot Lehigh in the Boston Globe, April 29, 2005.
“The Boston Teachers Union, through its obstruction, may just succeed in doing something the charter schools haven’t done with their successes: Make a charter supporter of Mayor Thomas Menino.”

SNUFFING PILOT SCHOOLS, lead editorial in the Boston Globe, April 27, 2005.
“Pilot schools represent the best that public education has to offer in Boston. The teachers union must recognize that in the long run, its members will best serve themselves by giving Boston’s students their best.”

BTU’s ‘Discovery’: Schools for spin, lead editorial in the Boston Herald, April 22, 2005.
Strongly disapproving of the Boston Teacher’s Union’s proposal for creating “Discovery Schools,” instead of new Pilots, after the breakdown of negotiations, the editorial concludes, “This is a shameless attempt to end a contract impasse with a phony scheme that would shortchange not just the system’s students, but Boston teachers who really care about innovation.”

Pilot school talks could open door for Gardner switch, by Erin Smith, in the Allston-Brighton Tab, March 11, 2005.
According to the Tab, Pilot conversion schools may be back on the boards, after an eight-month hiatus since the teacher’s union vetoed the conversion of the Gardner School. The remaining issues are in active negotiation. “‘It could be resolved by the end of the month, if the school department is serious about it,’ said Richard Stutman, union president.”

Boston Teachers Union position on Pilot school contract, by Richard Stutman, President of the BTU, in the BTU e-Bulletin, #s 33, 34 (April 22 &29, 2005).
This is the web page to read the latest official BTU thinking, written by union president Richard Stutman. The heart of the BTU argument in opposition to the current Pilot schools contract is captured in the April 29 issue: “We are looking for fair compensation for our pilot school members, most of whom currently receive no additional compensation for working in some pilot schools that require all to work an extended school day.”

Union, city battle over pilot schools: Teachers face criticism on call for overtime pay, by Tracy Jan, front page lead story in the Boston Globe, April 22, 2005.
The Boston Teachers Union proposes “Discovery Schools,” after pulling out of negotiations over Pilots. Major issues are pay and control.

Menino rips BTU for anti-pilot school ‘blackmail’, by Kevin Rothstein, in the Boston Herald, Tuesday, April 26, 2005.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino accused the Boston Teachers Union of blackmail over not allowing more pilot schools, warning yesterday he might seek to allow more independent charter schools to open.

Teachers union leader gets mixed reviews, by Megan Tench, in the Boston Globe, July 28, 2004.
“The jury is out on whether [Richard Stutman’s] leadership bodes well for the Boston public schools.” He has done well at tough contract negotiations, but shocked many when he nixed the Gardner School 28-1 vote in favor of Pilot conversion.

Pilot schools are taking off in Boston, by Kaitlin Rahl , in the Boston Educator, Vol. 1, No. 1, Autumn 2003. (Adobe Acrobat file, 325 kilobytes)
This new publication by the Boston School Department features Pilot schools and small schools throughout much of its 28 pages. Included online here is the above-headlined article, quoting a deputy superintendent saying, “Research suggests that pilot schools foster improvement in student performance,” and explaining the growing status and hopes for Pilots. A second included article, “City high schools reorganized to provide more options,” looks at the movement to break up large schools into smaller schools within a building, citing CCE as a “core partner organization” with whom BPS is working “to design and support the new small schools.” A third included article from the Boston Educator describes a $13.6 million Gates grant supporting the small schools effort.

Parents stand up for quality education, protest budget cuts, by Christine Maguire, page 1 in the Dorchester Community News, February 7, 2003.
This lead story of the February 7 issue of Dorchester’s free bi-weekly newspaper covers the BPON meeting around budget cuts and the SOS press conference at the State House announcing the meeting. It also analyzes the budget issues.

Charity shifts deadline on pilot schools - union tension prompts move, by Megan Tench, in Boston Globe, November 28, 2002.
“Bowing to pressure from the Boston Teachers Union, the Boston Foundation agreed yesterday to extend the deadline for schools wishing to apply for thousands of dollars in grants to study converting their campuses into pilot schools.”

Teachers’ union drops hurdle to expansion of pilot schools, by Ed Hayward, in Boston Herald, November 28, 2002.
“The Boston Teachers Union has backed off a plan that would have thwarted action on future pilot schools, allowing the Boston Foundation to move ahead with a proposal to award grants to city schools interested in exploring a possible conversion to pilot status.”

Union urges halt on backing pilot school grants, by Anand Vaishnav, in Boston Globe, November 16, 2002.
Union resistance surfaced “after the Boston Foundation offered $15,000 planning grants for schools interested in converting to pilot school status.” CCE study cited, showing that many Pilots “outperform their district counterparts.”