Joint Labor Management Committee revived following Gill-Montague no-confidence vote
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Turners Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School. STAFF FILE PHOTO/PAUL FRANZ
Published: 01-15-2025 6:27 PM |
TURNERS FALLS — Following the teachers union’s Dec. 13 vote of no confidence leveled against Superintendent Brian Beck and Director of Facilities and Energy Heath Cummings, the Gill-Montague Regional School District is relaunching a Joint Labor Management Committee to act as a problem-solving board.
The vote, taken by members of the Gill-Montague Education Association (GMEA), found that 90% of union members had no confidence in Beck and 91% for Cummings. There are 181 union members, 166 of whom supported a no-confidence vote for Beck. Nine voted “no” and there were six abstentions or absent voters, which counted as “no” votes.
While Beck did not comment on the vote during Tuesday’s School Committee meeting, he and GMEA President Heidi Schmidt mentioned that they had “a lengthy, productive meeting,” in Beck’s words, prior to the holiday break to informally discuss the no-confidence vote. Schmidt had said in December that concerns cited by union members included “matters of communication, management, leadership and a safe working environment based on comprehensive data collection.”
Schmidt said in December that the union’s vote was not a call for Beck’s resignation. She indicated the union wanted to work with the School Committee on this issue going forward.
Meanwhile, Cummings outlined his accomplishments in the district during a facilities presentation at Tuesday’s meeting, after which he said that he’s experienced burnout from his position and has dealt with personal issues relating to his physical and mental health — a topic he said was discussed during an executive session prior to the open committee meeting.
Cummings said he feels there is a hostile work environment and that he was “extremely shocked” to hear about the vote of no confidence taken in December.
“I’m not sure what more I can contribute to the district as I’m already going far and above and beyond my job requirements, and my colleagues in nearby schools are doing nowhere near what I’m doing,” Cummings said.
Cummings said he looks forward to discussing what actions the district will take going forward, saying that the environment has been hostile, and has “turned discriminatory and retaliatory.”
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School Committee Chair Jane Oakes read a prepared statement on behalf of the committee, saying that it consulted with district legal counsel Adam Dupere, who in turn spoke with the Neil Alper, the GMEA’s representative with the Massachusetts Teachers Association, about addressing the vote within the context of Open Meeting Law.
In an interview Wednesday, Schmidt said there were discussions between herself, Beck and School Committee member Carol Jacobs to relaunch a Joint Labor Management Committee (JLMC). Though the structure existed previously, regular meetings fell to the wayside amid scheduling conflicts and problems getting sufficient representation from staff.
In an interview Wednesday, Oakes said the JLMC is a non-voting body, and acts as a problem-solving board with School Committee and union members. Oakes mentioned that the committee will meet Thursday, Jan. 16, though a time and place will not be posted publicly online.
“We have already scheduled one of those Joint Labor Management Committee meetings for later this week,” Oakes said in the Tuesday meeting about the decision to restart these sessions. “The other one will be scheduled as soon as we are able to get enough staff to attend it.”
Schmidt said the JLMC is designed to help the GMEA and School Committee to discuss issues both related and unrelated to labor contracts. Schmidt said in December that the teachers union brought forward the no-confidence vote in a School Committee meeting because a separate structure, like a JLMC, was not available to communicate their concerns.
Back in December, Schmidt spoke to the union’s expectations for Beck, including more communication and accessibility for staff and families, prioritizing staff concerns to make sure the learning environment is safe, accountability in the school management hierarchy, timely decision making and student engagement. However, no specific incidents that acted as a catalyst for the vote were discussed.
Outside of the reactivation of a JLMC, Schmidt and Oakes plan to meet as well, with some of their meetings already scheduled.
School Committee member Wendy Thompson said she feels having the JLMC convening again is important, and that the effort should be made to make meetings regular.
“I think we owe it to the town, the community, to the district, to the teachers, to make sure that we’re doing due diligence to make sure that we’re trying to meet everyone’s needs,” Thompson said.
Jacobs said she is glad to see Beck keeping the communication moving forward, and requested that the School Committee get updates about the conversations between the GMEA and Beck.
Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.