Judge Denies PCSSD Request to Reconsider Ruling

On Thursday, May 6, Circuit Judge Timothy Fox denied a request from the Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD) to reconsider his April 8 ruling that nullified the PCSSD's Dec. 8, 2009 decision to withdraw its recognition of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers (PACT) as the association that represents the school district's teachers.

The news was announced Thursday night during a forum hosted by PACT, where over 100 teachers, parents and others turned out in support of PACT. The forum was held at the Arkansas Education Association headquarters to inform the public about the situation and how it will affect PCSSD teachers and students.

In a separate motion, PACT has requested the court to compel PCSSD to comply with the terms of the existing contract and meet with PACT to negotiate a new contract. Language of the current contract states that the terms of an existing contract remain in effect until a new contract is agreed upon and signed by both parties. As of Friday, May 7, the court has not issued a decision regarding this motion.

According to Fox's April 8 court order, the PCSSD's decision was not legal because without recognition of PACT and the Professional Negotiations Agreement (PNA), the district did not have in place a set of written personnel policies and a personnel policies committee. According to Arkansas state law (ACA Section 6-17-207), a school cannot be accredited by the Department of Education without these policies. However, ACA Section 6-17-202(a) states that these mandates do not apply to school districts that officially recognize an organization that represents the majority of school district teachers – in this case, PACT.

The court order states, "Under the terms and conditions of the PNA and applicable statues, the PCSSD has the authority to terminate the PNA provided it can do so in compliance with Arkansas law." However, the language of the current contract states that the terms of an existing contract remain in effect until a new contract is agreed upon and signed by both parties.

PCSSD Withdraws Recognition of PACT for Second Time-April 21, 2010

The Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD) School Board voted for a second time to withdraw its recognition of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers (PACT) during a board meeting Tuesday, April 20.

PACT President Marty Nix said that PACT will pursue all options they have available, including legal recourse, to challenge the board's decision. "We have an executive board meeting today and a representative council tomorrow," she said Wednesday morning. "Our leadership will be discussing all available options."

According to a motion from Board member Charlie Wood, recognition of PACT would officially end June 30, and teachers would be notified that their contracts would not be renewed. The PACT contracts would be replaced by contracts developed by a personnel policies committee and approved by the Board, which would go into effect July 1. However, neither the personnel policies committee nor the policies themselves yet exist.

According to a court order made by Circuit Judge Timothy Fox on April 8, the PCSSD's original decision to withdraw recognition of PACT in December was not legal because without recognition of PACT and the PNA, the district did not have in place a set of written personnel policies and a personnel policies committee. According to Arkansas state law (ACA Section 6-17-207), a school cannot be accredited by the Department of Education without these policies. However, ACA Section 6-17-202(a) states that these mandates do not apply to school districts that officially recognize an organization that represents the majority of school district teachers – in this case, PACT.

During the Tuesday Board meeting, the board also adopted a guide drafted by Wood to help PCSSD administrators to develop the missing personnel policies and a modified teacher contract. The guide specifies that teachers would receive 1 percent annual raises across the board, but would also be eligible for performance-based raises.

PACT Awarded Victory By Circuit Court: April 9, 2010

"A victory was won in court today by our local affiliate, Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers (PACT).  Congratulations to Marty Nix, PACT President, and their entire membership!" said AEA President Donna Morey.

Circuit Judge Timothy Fox ruled "null and void" on Thursday, April 8, the Pulaski County Special School District's (PCSSD) Dec. 8, 2009 decision to withdraw its recognition of PACT as the association that has represented the school district's teachers for over 40 years.

"We would like to thank both the state and national associations for their support through this whole ordeal," said PACT President Marty Nix. "We are looking forward to going back to the table. We already have a new contract that is agreed upon by both negotiating teams, but as of yet, not the Board of Directors."

The court order states: "The PCSSD's vote to withdraw recognition of PACT on December 8, 2009 was ultra vires (outside the law) and constituted a violation of their statutorily prescribed duty. Accordingly, the vote on December 8, 2009 is null and void and the PNA (Professional Negotiations Agreement) remains in effect between the parties."

According to the court order, the PCSSD's decision was not legal because without recognition of PACT and the PNA, the district did not have in place a set of written personnel policies and a personnel policies committee. According to Arkansas state law (ACA Section 6-17-207), a school cannot be accredited by the Department of Education without these policies. However, ACA Section 6-17-202(a) states that these mandates do not apply to school districts that officially recognize an organization that represents the majority of school district teachers – in this case, PACT.

"Our contract is the district's personnel policy, and within that is the recognition clause," Nix said. "What we have filed with the Department of Education is the PNA."

The court order states, "Under the terms and conditions of the PNA and applicable statues, the PCSSD has the authority to terminate the PNA provided it can do so in compliance with Arkansas law." However, the language of the current contract states that the terms of an existing contract remain in effect until a new contract is agreed upon and signed by both parties.

Judge Fox also ruled that the one-day fair treatment walkout held on Dec. 10, 2009 was a strike, and that "the contract between the parties provides that no reprisal will be taken against any teacher for participating in a strike." To read the court decision go to PACTdecision1.pdf

Pulaski County Special School District Situation to Date: December 14, 2009

The following is a summary of events concerning the Pulaski County Special School District's (PCSSD) withdrawal of recognition of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers (PACT) and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff (PASS) after 7 month of negotiations. Arkansas Education Association and National Education Association are in complete support of the actions taken by PACT. We are the voice of teachers and believe that great public schools are a shared responsibility. Respect will enhance the results that will help every student succeed in the future.

Sunday, Dec. 6
Members PACT unanimously ratified the terms of a new contract. Members of the School Board’s Negotiation Team and that of PACT have been involved in bargaining a successor contract since April 15th of this year.

Tuesday, Dec. 8
The School Board scheduled a “Ratification Vote” to conclude their part in the Negotiation Process for this date, but instead of voting to ratify their own Board’s Negotiating Team’s Tentative Agreement they instead called a Special Board Meeting for later on in the evening and voted 4-2 to withdraw its recognition of both PACT and PASS as the associations that represent the school district's teachers and support staff. The move was totally unexpected and is a clear violation of the current contract between the Board and PACT.

Those who voted in favor of withdrawing recognition and ignored the current contract language in effect were President Tim Clark, Charlie Wood, Mildred Tatum and Danny Gililland. Those who opposed the move were Bill Vasquez and Gwen Williams. Sandra Sawyer was not present.

PACT President Marty Nix and PASS President Emry Chesterfield criticized the board's lack of preparedness to vote on the tentative teacher’s contract and expressed their complete shock and amazement at the Board’s action.

Wednesday, Dec. 9
During an emergency meeting at 2 p.m., the PCSSD voted to give teachers the salary and benefits which had been agreed to in the tentative agreement of a 2 percent pay raise and to increase the school district's contribution for health insurance for all of the district's employees.

Later that evening, PACT members voted to hold a one-day "fair treatment" walkout on Thursday, Dec. 10. Nix faxed Acting Superintendent Rob McGill a letter informing him of PACT's intent. The letter stated:

"The purpose of this action is to show unity because the school board withdrew PACT's recognition on Dec. 8, 2009, without cause and/or justification. We are providing you with this advance notice as a courtesy so that the district will have an opportunity to take appropriate steps to minimize any impact that this action may cause on the students and the patrons."

The language of the current contract states that the terms of an existing contract remain in effect until a new contract is agreed upon and signed by both parties. However, the board reneged on the terms of the existing contract when they withdrew recognition of PACT and PASS, along with those groups' ability to negotiate with their employer.

During the meeting, PACT members also gave Nix the authority to call a full strike at any time she deems necessary.

Thursday, Dec. 10
PACT engaged in a one-day Fair Treatment Walkout on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009 to show unity following the school board's decision. Of the nearly 1,300 Districts teachers, close to 700 PACT members took an "accrued leave day" to participate in the walkout. Several hundred picketed at the PCSSD administration building on Dixon Road in Little Rock for about an hour, then convened at AEA headquarters for further discussion of the situation.

The PCSSD issued a memo which included the following points:
• The PACT contract 2006 - 2009 will continue to remain in effect.
• PASS employees will continue to follow board policy.
• All contracted employees of PCSSD will receive a 2% raise, retroactive to July 1, 2009. The retro amount will be paid prior to Christmas Break.
• An additional increase to employee benefits to equal $127.68 (an increase of $30.40) to be applied to any insurance benefits available through payroll deduction will be effective January 1, 2010.
• Those employees absent from their job duties due to participation in job action events will not be paid for the day.
• One the third (3rd) accumulative day absent due to participation in job action events, the employee will be treated as having voluntarily terminated their employment effective as of the third accumulative day.
• Both certified and support staff employees will form a personnel policy committee in compliance with Arkansas State Law.

Thursday evening, the PASS membership voted not to take any job action at this time but to offer any other support they could for the members of PACT.

Friday, Dec. 11
PACT members returned to work as President Nix had indicated they would in her notification to the Superintendent.

The PCSSD school board held an emergency meeting at 3 p.m. According to the press release, The purpose of the meeting was:
• Preparation and possible action for a potential employee job action
• Discussion and possible action toward substitute pay.

During the meeting, the board voted to increase substitute teacher pay in the event of a strike, hire 20 permanent substitute teachers and give a $50 bonus to every teacher who reported to work during Thursday's walk-out. Another clear violation of the current contract which the Superintendent said was still in effect.

PACT is exploring all options to resolve this matter including legal action against the school district.

Tuesday, Dec. 15
PACT Rep Council Meeting
PACT files Lawsuit for Breach of Contract and Mandatory Injuction with Circuit Court
Teachers meet at the AEA building. Members will not rule out any options to resolve irrational decision to withdrawal recognition.

Arkansas Education Association and National Education Association are in complete support of the actions taken by PACT. We are the voice of teachers and believe that great public schools are a shared responsibility. Respect will enhance the results that will help every student succeed in the future.

If you are interested in more information contact PACT at (501) 374-4955

Visit http://www.pwp2009.blogspot.com/