Teachers Still WithoutNew Contract
By Stephanie Mariel Petrellese

The middle school cafeteria was packed once again for the October 16th meeting of the Garden City Board of Education as more than 140 teachers stood silently in the back to show their support for a quick resolution to the contract dispute between their union and the district. Teachers also attended the last School Board meeting on Sept. 18th.

Both sides agree that the dividing issue concerns teacher duties. The Garden City Teachers' Association expressed their position on their Web site in a September viewpoints column article entitled "Actions Speak Louder," edited by high school social studies teacher Scott McAuley: "While it would be imprudent to discuss details in light of the fact that negotiations are ongoing, suffice it to say that what divides the GCTA and the district has little to do with pay or benefits, and everything to do with allowing teachers to determine for themselves how to best use their professional time." The GCTA site can be accessed through the district's Web site at www.gardencity.k12.ny.us/.

School Board President Kenneth Monaghan agreed. "At this stage, what we are divided by is not pay or benefits, which have been agreed upon for quite some period of time, but what divides us at this point is work role related."

"We have gone back and forth," he continued. "There have been a number of proposals both from the GCTA that we have responded to and there have been a number of proposals that we have made to the GCTA that they have responded to. We reviewed proposals again this evening in executive session with our counsel Guercio & Guercio to try and resolve this as quickly as possible because we have met repeatedly to do so, as I know the GCTA has as well."

"At this stage I can tell you we have come back once again this evening and given our counsel Guercio & Guercio marching orders related to a counterproposal to hopefully bring this to a resolution, because that is the desire of the Board, to move ahead with this as quickly as possible."

Carlo Rebolini, GCTA president, released the following statement to The Garden City News via e-mail after the meeting: "The presence of over 140 teachers at the Board of Education meeting Monday evening reaffirms our commitment to reaching agreement on a contract that acknowledges both our faculty's professionalism and our commitment to the students of this district."