Teachers union leader gets mixed reviews
When Boston teachers found themselves facing off with their bosses, they called in the man with the steely-eyed gaze, the persistent smirk, the hard-charging reputation: Richard Stutman.
School officials disliked dealing with him, but most teachers adored him. After 20 years of defending teachers as a union field representative, the 53-year-old West Roxbury resident became president of the Boston Teachers Union.
A year later, the jury is out on whether his leadership bodes well for the Boston public schools.
Some call Stutman a tough negotiator who secured a handsomely funded three-year teachers contract, despite assertions by city officials that money was tight. Others say he is too rigid and fear that his approach poses a threat to improving the quality of Boston's 139 public schools. They wonder whether Stutman will damage the union's national reputation as a group that works collaboratively with officials to improve schools, yet still protects the rights of its 8,000 members. His predecessor, Ed Doherty, long viewed as a reformer, led the union for 20 years.
Stutman's presidency comes at a key time for the school system, which is struggling to improve lagging test scores, curb dropout rates, and fix failing schools. Superintendent Thomas W. Payzant is pushing for more control in the hiring and firing of teachers, overriding seniority rules.
''The relationship between Stutman and Payzant needs to be strengthened," said Adam Urbanski, founding director of the Teacher Union Reform Network, a coalition of teachers unions working for change. ''But I am convinced that Richard Stutman will continue to make reforms. He's very strong and very thorough, and I believe his approach is much more responsible than those union leaders who fall for every reform du jour."
Earlier this month, Stutman outraged school, city, and state leaders when he vetoed a plan to turn the Thomas Gardner Elementary School into a pilot school. The veto, which he is allowed to exercise under the contract, cost the school up to $100,000 in grants. With the blessing of the teachers union, Boston created pilot schools 10 years ago to draw families back to public schools and to compete with charter schools established by outside groups. The city's 15 pilot schools experiment with ways to improve education and operate free of many rules, including many union guidelines.
At the Gardner, 28 of 29 teachers voted for pilot school status, making Stutman's veto mind-boggling to some observers.
''I don't think it was a decision made with serious thought," said Michael Contompasis, the school system's chief operating officer. ''I just don't understand it."
Some state lawmakers expressed disappointment, and leaders from the Boston Foundation, one of the city's largest charitable organizations, withdrew its grant.
''For years the foundation has been very involved in Boston schools, and we've had a long-term cordial relationship with the union," said Paul Grogan, president of the foundation. ''We want to continue to have one."
During a recent interview, Stutman shrugged off the criticism, saying the veto had nothing to do with killing reform.
The Gardner school proposed changes the union opposed, including unpaid overtime and the recruitment of part-time music and art teachers from outside the school system, he said.
''We don't allow our music teachers to lose their jobs just so they can bring someone else in," he said. ''We will continue to work to improve the quality of schools. At the same time, I am not going to give a stamp of approval to something that is not going to work."
While he drew criticism for his opposition to the Gardner proposal, Stutman won praise for his handling of contract negotiations.
Contract talks began in 2003, and as negotiations broke down teachers approved a one-day strike. The strike was averted when the union, with the mayor's intervention, brokered a deal. In his first major test as union president, Stutman won a $64 million contract that gave teachers a 9 percent to 13 percent raise over the span of three years.
''He's tough to do business with," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. ''He represented his people, and he doesn't do it using a lot of boisterous threats. He just does it quietly as a leader."
Stutman's willingness to give Payzant more power over failing schools in the contract showed that he wasn't as antireform as some thought, said Sam Tyler, head of the Boston Muncipal Research Bureau.
As a teacher, from 1973 to 1983, Stutman worked with the Citywide Parents Council for changes in the schools. He demonstrated in rallies about reducing class sizes and testified at School Committee meetings in favor of desegregation, said Henry Allen, a former parent activist who is director of the Hyams Foundation.
Still, as a union president, Stutman is unpredictable, Tyler said. ''These are two different sides to Richard Stutman we're seeing this first year. It'll be interesting to see which image wins out." 