Hartford teacher's union says change is needed; 68 grievances filed this year

The Hartford Federation of Teachers says a change is needed at Hartford Public Schools and they’re losing faith in district leadership.

Carol Gale, president of the union, said 68 grievances were filed this year by union members.

“The first two years that we were in office, it was under 10. We really tried to solve things at low levels,” she said. “Then it jumped to 30 last year, and this year it jumped to 68. That’s just showing we’re getting less and less ability to get answers.”

The grievances stemmed from the budget crisis, Gale said, when nearly 400 positions in the district were cut – 320 of them impacting union members.

She said the union offered solutions early on, but layoffs still came in April.

“That the cut positions were displaced, that based on seniority, those people would be placed into the vacant positions, and/or bump somebody who is less senior within their certification area, and then when that was all done, lay off people,” Gale explained. “Our district laid off in April which then created two months of anxiety, stress, confusion, and chaos. Therefore, we’ve had to file many grievances, they’re all still open.”

She said it’s exacerbated the problem of teacher retention.

“People were so upset and confused that some people just decided to resign, to look for other jobs, they got other jobs and they left the district, so once again we lost valuable, experience, knowledge, resources from the people who know our kids, our families.”

Gale said the union just wants a seat at the table and be involved in the collaboration on issues the district is facing.

“The union gets informed of things,” she said. “That is a far cry from, 'Hey, this is what we’re facing, let’s put our heads together, what do you think, you got any ideas?' This is what I hear from my colleagues at other unions. They have this relationship where they just talk to the superintendents. They figure things out ahead of time. We do not enjoy that kind of relationship with our district.”

A spokesperson for Hartford Public Schools responded in a statement, saying:

“The leadership at the Hartford Federation of Teachers has standing monthly meetings with District leadership in addition to meetings and opportunities for collaboration that arise on a consistent basis. To imply that the grievance process, which is initiated by the union, is the only method of communication is categorically false and quite frankly a distraction from the important work HPS staff are doing every day to prepare for the upcoming school year.”

Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez’s contract is up at the end of the next school year and her new contract will be voted on before the end of September.

Some parents are concerned about how this impacts students.

“Year after year, we are kind of saying, well, it’s a tough budget year, but kids are going through the system and we can't just pretend that that doesn't have a multi-generational impact in our community,” said Costanza Segovia, a Hartford parent and organizer of a newly-formed coalition of Hartford public school parents.

“Our kids’ learning conditions are the workers' working conditions,” she said. “We hear what the teacher’s union says and we, you know, that raises concern. We're less interested in in pointing fingers in terms of who's to blame and more interested in having a conversation about how it's gonna get fixed.”

“There has to be changes in the working relationship between management and labor, there has to be changes to the working conditions in our schools. There just has to be,” Gale added. “Either we have to change the structures that exist, the working relationships that exist, or we have to change the people. Somewhere, gotta have a change.”