Petersburg School Board could hear collective bargaining as early as next month

PETERSBURG – It has been seven months since the School Board rescinded its vote on collective bargaining for educators with a promise to revisit it.

For many of the teachers and other Petersburg Education Association members who attended last week’s School Board meeting, that is long enough. They want the board to vote as soon as possible.

Now it seems they are getting some sympathetic ears among board members, as several are calling for a vote to be taken as soon as next month.

Board member Hal Miles Sr, who pushed for the original rescinding of the agreement, noted that PEA was prompt in getting their amended version to him and his colleagues, so it was only fair that the board return the promptness.

“I know I read it, and I am quite sure that ... all of the board members read it,” he said.  “I think we should move forward to vote on it in an expedient manner, and not drag it out. I know things work better when people have a voice.”

Last June, the board came under PEA fire when it adopted a collective-bargaining resolution that the educators’ union claimed was completely devoid of their input. PEA wanted all school employees to be covered, but the board chose only teachers, guidance counselors and librarians licensed in Virginia to teach. It also struck salary negotiations from the agreement, covering only work hours, work safety, and insurance and benefits; and was one-sided in the board’s favor on terminating the agreement.

Following blowback from the local and state unions, the board voted a month later to tear up that agreement and work on a new one. PEA soon drafted a new agreement that was more inclusive of all school employees and included salary discussions with the other areas.

But after months of no movement, some educators took it upon themselves to push board members to jumpstart the discussions.

“Employees are become leery over lack of consideration this board has shown them over the course of the year,” PEA vice president Freda Curtis said. Petersburg has the highest teacher-turnover rate in Virginia at 21% this school year, and Curtis blamed inconsideration for that.

Curtis said many younger educators “have lost faith in the leadership” of the school system because they do not feel trusted to make wise decisions about their development.

“Instead, you listen to outside players like [Virginia School Board Association] and their attorneys, and in doing so, you drive them away,” she said.

Added Apollonia Gray-Thornton, an elementary teacher who drives 75 minutes to Petersburg from her home in Caroline County and back, “We need you to pass this. We need you to be on our side.”

“We need a seat at the table to talk about testing,” said Bianca Lampley, a seventh-grade history teacher at Vernon Johns Middle School. She said she and her colleagues were given short notice about last week’s benchmark testing, which meant they had little time to prepare their students. Also, she said they were told all students would be taking the test simultaneously, “and we as teachers knew our school does not have the bandwidth” for that to happen.

Miles admitted he was the one who came up with the original plan “that wasn’t very productive.

“With this resolution,” Miles said, “I think we can move forward and vote on it. Maybe, he added, as early as the next board meeting April 17 “if everyone takes time to read it.”

Other board members agreed with Miles to take care of the agreement sooner rather than later.

Board chair Kenneth Pritchett said earlier that he was waiting for the PEA attorney to respond before he would commit to a time. After Miles finished speaking, several PEA members told Pritchett they sent him an email on March 5, which he confirmed during the meeting.

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Petersburg says it will move ahead on education collective bargaining