Newark's Billboard Battle

BATTLE OF THE BILLBOARDS

Center responds to 'Help Wanted' signs with one of their own

By: Kristy Barry

Posted: 3/21/07

It's become a billboard brouhaha.

The Center for Union Facts has put up several billboards in Newark bashing the Newark Teachers Union, citing the union is "protecting bad teachers, discouraging good teachers and failing our kids."

"We're calling attention to one problem and it's that the Newark Teachers Union is protecting bad teachers," said Jon Berry, a research analyst for the Center for Union Facts, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.

"We found that in a typical year, one tenured teacher gets fired--one out of nearly 4,000," Berry said. "…Either every teacher except that one is doing his or her job well, or something else is responsible."

According to district records, a tenured Newark teacher is 4.6 times more likely to die while employed than get fired. A teacher in the Newark public school system can qualify for tenure after three years on the job.

"Absolutely, Newark has many committed teachers, but to say that that's true of 99.968 percent of tenured teachers is a real stretch," Berry said.

According to documents compiled by the Center, one of the "bad apples" of the union is a teacher who slapped a student in the face, hit another student on the mouth, used Mace on a second grader and put a stapler on another second grader's lips while threatening to staple them shut. The teacher was allowed to remain in her job for more than six months after charges were filed.

Another teacher "willfully and intentionally misrepresented her medical condition" to claim sickness from one district job but showed up to collect a paycheck at another district job. The teacher retired seven months after the charges were filed, with no consequences.

"If you compare the tenure charges to a trial, settlements are like a plea bargain," Berry said.

"Are there other problems? Absolutely. This is one that's easy to see and also easy to fix, if the union would accept responsibility," he added.

Joseph Del Grosso, the president of the Newark Teachers Union, fired back saying the billboards are politically charged and "the opening salvo on the school voucher."

Del Grosso said he doesn't think it's a coincidence that these billboards were put up just months after his billboards came out reading, "HELP WANTED: Stop the killings in Newark now!" Many of the anti-union signs, which can be seen in Newark, including on McCarter Highway and on buses, were also put up near the union-sponsored billboards.

"The attack is from a right-wing conservative group, headed by Richard Berman, the Johnny Appleseed of anti-unions," Del Grosso said. "Spreading the seeds of dissension.

"We are taking the bull by the horns, what is Mr. Berman doing for public education? He's a hate-monger. We're glad he's fighting here because he'll be fighting a worthy adversary," Del Grosso said. "We understand the gravity of the problem. Berman is a fly…and we will swat him down."

He said that critics want to discredit his anti-violence campaign and the union, convincing people that the cause of the problems in schools is the teachers. "We protect a process, not bad teachers. There's always room to improve." "We would rather see vouchers for bullet proof vests than vouchers to destroy public education," he added.

Del Grosso said that a lot of teachers are disheartened that the union is under attack. He said that the local union has spent more money for scholarships for Newark students than any other local and that the NTU has "a big heart for this community."

Del Grosso announced some initiatives that the teachers union was working toward, including teaming up with Seton Hall, creating new workshops, hiring new teachers, and spending over $100,000 to the Newton Street School.

He said he hopes that City Hall and others will help find solutions to the problems in schools. "I still hold out this feeling that working with us in a collaborative effort is easier than breaking us."

Marion Bolden, the superintendent of Newark public schools, said she doesn't have easy days with the union and would be the first to say if they were protecting bad teachers.

"There are times I look at the same documentation and see the same results. It's not easy to come into an urban district, jump in and be successful," Bolden said, adding that she thinks the union has "mellowed out" over the years.

"I haven't seen this union taking a pro-position to teachers doing these egregious positions," Bolden said. "They generally will be protective of the teacher if they think principals and teachers have conflicting personalities."

Nonetheless, Bolden said she doesn't appreciate either billboard. She said that the energy wasted is "insane," there's no truth in the Center's ads, and the NTU is further projecting a dark shadow over Newark.

"I want more teachers to feel good about coming here," Bolden said. "We have endured such a negative image for so long, but when does it stop?"

"I have a national article [in Education Week] that talks about the billboard war--where's the article about progress in our schools?" Bolden said. "It's the adults in this world who need to grow up."

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