The-Leader_1971-10-14

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The LEADER NASSAU CTl^ HJ/lTORiQ.,
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FREEPORT
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BALDWIN
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MERRICK
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ROOSEVELT
Ho Cade 11!i7l
36th YEAR, No. 25 FREEPORT, NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1971 PRICE: TEN CENTS PER COPY
Teachers Demand
New Negotiator
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ON THE GOOD SHIP "REPUBUCAN": Seeking out the waterfront voters last Monday
to support the Cahn-Puroell-D'Amato ticket in November are, left to right: Bill While,
Deputy Mayor of Freeport;Roy Cacdatore; Frands PurceU, Presiding Supervisor Town of
Hempstead; Al D'Amato, Supervisor, Town of Hempstead; Allan VoUmer and Julie Mintz,
Freeport Republican Leaders; Oak Gentry Jr., Freeport Village Counsel; Freeport Mayor
Robert Sweeney and Fred Scalamandre.
Group visited liical supporters gathered in several waterfront homes in the Freeport,
Merrick. Bellmore. Baldwin a>eas. Final ,«cep.ion of the day was held in the lovely
home of Fred and Pat Scalamandre.
Frustrated by what|he teacher's association has called
"stalling tactics" anrf hot true collective bargaining," the
400 member organi7:ation has demanded the removal of
Rocky Wall as chief negotiator for the sdiool district.
In the finst of a series of letters exchanged last week,
John McKaharay, president of the association called upon
the school board to replace Mr. Wall as chief negotiator.
Mr. Wall is also general counsel for the district.
At this point the negotiations for a new contract are at
a standstill. Tlic report of the fact finder, Jonas Silver,
appointed by flic Public Employee Relations Board, is
due this week. If either the school district's Superinten­dent.
Donald Cosllow or the teachers assodation rejects
the fact finder's report, a legislative hearing will be held,
open l<> Ihc public, and the school board will rule. Mr.
McKaharay told a LEADER representative that the teach­ers
''will not accept a legislative hearing." ,,,, . ,_
While teachers marched in protest Friday afternoon in
front of Bayview school, the school board held a press
conference in the administration building.
The following relea.sc was issued to all thos« present:
October 7, 1971
TO ALL FREEPORT TEACHERS:
If any teacher in Freeport thinks the Board of Education
is indifferent or unconcerned about the grave situation
that faces ah of us - that teacher is wrong.
Til is Board is concerned, and has been for months. We
have done everything that is legally in our power to do to
prevent a "countdown situation", aiid there are certain
misconceptions that must be cleared up immediately in the
interests of truth and fair deahng.
First and foremost, scores of teachers who haVe been
our friends for years, have been urging us to "negotiate
a contract now", or to enter into negotiations now. There
is a feeling among teachers, which is indicative of the good
relations we enjoy, that if the Board were to sit down at a
table with your negotiators, we could hammer out a con­tract
and avoid a legal hassle.
The fact of the matter is thai the Board of Education
IS PREVENTED BY LAW from entering the negotiations
which the District, represented by Superintendent Costlow
and the School District attonwy, has been and still is
conducting with your negotiating team. We have been ad­vised
that if we, the Board of Education, were to intervene
in any way in the negotiations of the District, our involve­ment
woul^-Joepardize and perhafK destroy the resolution
of your differences with the District. We didn't make that
law; the New York State Legislature did.
Another fa£t is though the negotiations have been refer­red
to a PERB factfinder, the District has continued to
meet regularly with your negotiating team to try to reach
some settlement before the legal machinery of the Taylor
Law so polarizes positions that all of us - we, you, the
District, and the students - become its victims uistead of
its beneficiaries, as has happened in other Districts.
We, the Board of Education, want a contract now as
much as you do.
Harold Levine, i^sident
Joseph M, McAndrews,
Vic«-ft«sident
S. Frank Emmanuel
John L. Mendes
Steward L. Yanover
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