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Negotiation talks
between the Boston Public Schools and the Boston Teachers Union could
revive Gardner Elementary School's bid to become a pilot school, and some
hope the two sides can strike a deal by the end of the month, according
to union officials.
The teachers union rejected the Gardner's
bid to become a pilot school last June, leading to a eight-month freeze
on new pilot schools.
Pilot schools were started as the city's answer
to charter schools, and they were allowed total freedom from downtown when
it came to setting up the curriculum or spending its budget. The teachers
object to pilot schools for giving headmasters too much control.
But renewed negotiations between school officials
and the union could renew the Gardner's bid.
"It could be resolved by the end of the month,
if the school department is serious about it," said Richard Stutman, union
president.
BPS and the union originally had stopped debating
the pilot program in order to focus on the more substantive issues of pay
as the sides negotiated a new contract last April, said Jonathan Palumbo,
BPS spokesman.
Door opens
Two weeks ago, the officials resumed negotiations
over the program, one of the last points of the contract left to be ironed
out. Negotiators have already met three times in the last month with another
meeting scheduled for early next week.
"We've learned a lot from pilot schools and
they're working," said Stutman. "We'd just like to expand some of their
practices to traditional schools."
Those practices would include a greater financial
flexibility in programming for all city schools.
Stutman also is seeking to improve treatment
of pilot school teachers, who sometimes work longer hours without compensation,
he said. The teachers union is also asking pilot school administrators to
schedule staff meetings consistently.
Stutman is not opposed to emergency meetings,
but some teachers have complained to the union that pilot schools inconveniently
change regularly scheduled staff meeting, forcing teachers to struggle in
getting proper child care.
Stutman said he is optimistic that there will
be progress made in the negotiations, which could mean good news for the
Gardner.
The Gardner School is a full-service school,
meaning more than half of its students participate in after-school programs.
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