District 622 Teachers Protest Contract Stalemate At School Board Meeting

About 50 teachers from the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale school district turned up to Tuesday's school board meeting wearing all black—and saying nothin—to protest the school board's failure to renegotiate their contract.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, teachers union board member Dennis Fendt had a pointed message for the school board.

"I come as a friend," Fendt said. "Please take note of and hear the silence of our teachers this evening ... they want nothing more than to be respected and appreciated for all the work they do." 

One teacher said morale among the teachers was as low as she had ever seen it in her 20-plus years, and District 622 staffer Candy Peterson, who isn't a teacher, said she sided with them.

"I don't have a dog in this fight," Peterson told the school board. "But I see that morale is low and I think our kids are suffering."

Recent state legislation eliminated a Jan. 15 deadline by which the school board had to renegotiate the teachers' contract. As it stands now, .    

In other news from Tuesday's meeting:

• Nine-year school board volunteer Jerry Markie was given a posthumous School Board Achievement Award by Rep. Nora Slawik for his tireless efforts producing the "Jerry Markie Education Update" and the countless volunteer hours he gave to the district.

• School Board Superintendent Patty Phillips encouraged her colleagues to begin thinking about selling some of Minnesota's school trust lands in the Boundary Waters back to the federal government. Phillips used Utah as an example of a state that did something similar in 1994 and received $3.4 billion for its school districts.  

• The school board approved sabbatical for two of its tenured teachers. The teachers—who were not identified—will study for ESL licensure and administrative licensure. In return for a year away from the classroom, the teachers have agreed to give up health and dental insurance and have their pay cut in half.