Teachers picket for new contract

EAST SANDWICH — They clutched signs in one mitten and hot coffee in the other, but Sandwich teachers weren't feeling much warmth toward the school committee or protracted negotiations for a new contract.

On Monday morning, teachers held what union leaders said would be the first of daily protests outside each of the four school buildings in the district to bring attention to lack of progress toward a settled contract. The next bargaining session with a mediator isn't scheduled until next month, so members of the Sandwich Education Association plan to start each day by picketing, Bud Schermerhorn, a Sandwich High School teacher, said.

Teachers refused to discuss specifics of the contract impasse and, instead, issued a statement saying they've exhausted all efforts to get the school committee to bargain "respectfully and in a timely manner."

"It has been over 500 days that we have been without a contract," the statement reads. "As a result, we need to bring it to the public."

Perceptions in the community that the teachers union is looking for a big retroactive payday or is uncaring about the town's budget constraints have no merit, union president Laura Carlyle said. Without discussing specifics, she said the teachers have offered to take no increase in at least part of the contract.

"This isn't about the content; it's about the lack of a contract," Carlyle said. "It is the school committee who can bring this to an end."

Sandwich School Committee Chairman Shaun Cahill refused to comment on the negotiations or on the teachers taking to the streets.

A spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Teachers Association reported that teachers in 65 school districts around the state are working under the terms of a previous contract. Sixteen of those contract negotiations have dragged on for a year or more, she said.

The public is already well aware of the contract squabble in Sandwich. Teachers have taken out advertisements in local newspapers, they've gathered at school board meetings holding signs and they have stopped volunteering for some extracurricular activities.

"We've waited very patiently," Marcia Simpson, a veteran high school teacher, said as she held a sign.

Simpson was joined by about 50 of her colleagues on either side of the entrance to the high school driveway holding signs that said, "Respect your teachers" and "We deserve a fair contract."

Monday morning's protest at the high school even drew retired chemistry teacher David O'Hara, who said he's lived through many of these negotiations in the past.

"We always got a fair shake from the school committee," he said. "I've never seen it like this."

The first teachers began arriving at about 6:45 a.m. Most of them dispersed at about 7:15 a.m. to get ready for classes.

An hour later, teachers gathered outside the Henry T. Wing School holding signs with similar messages, including one with a frown that said, "It's time."

"We've gotten to a point where our only alternative is to take it public," Debra Stanton, a member of the union's crisis team, said outside Wing School. "It's a difficult thing for us to do."

Teachers were also expected to protest the lack of a settled contract at Oak Ridge and Forestdale schools, union officials said.

Morale is low in the town's four schools, Carlyle said, because teachers are feeling disenfranchised. "We've gone from it being a distraction to it being a dreadful distraction," Carlyle said.

Reached Monday morning, Superintendent C. Richard Canfield said he appreciated the union giving him a heads up about its plans to protest. Both the school committee and union are frustrated, he said, but both sides share the goal of settling the contract as soon as possible.

With the exception of some teachers no longer volunteering for school events, the dispute hasn't affected students much, Canfield said.

"I'm really not seeing any impact in the classroom," he said.