ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 30, 1995 TAG: 9601020056
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Schoolteachers in the Roanoke Valley say they just want the same job protection as other public employees.
If state or local employees are fired, demoted or suspended, they can appeal the decision to an independent arbitration panel, which has the final authority.
Not so for teachers. They can appeal to a grievance panel, but the local school board can overturn the panel's decision.
If teachers feel they have been treated unjustly, their only recourse is to go to court.
Teachers had a grievance procedure similar to that of other public employees for several years during the 1970s. But the Virginia Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that the state Constitution prohibits binding arbitration for teachers. The court said school boards have the final authority on teacher grievances.
The Virginia Education Association has been lobbying the General Assembly for several years to get the same grievance procedure for teachers as other public employees.
During its last session, the legislature approved legislation to put on the ballot an amendment to the state Constitution that would allow binding arbitration for teachers.
The General Assembly must approve the legislation again during the upcoming session before the referendum can be held in November.
All three school boards in the Roanoke Valley oppose binding arbitration. They want to keep final power on firings and other grievances. They have asked the General Assembly to reject the referendum legislation.
That has angered some teachers, including Linda Wyatt, a Roanoke City Council member who tried unsuccessfully to get the board's request stricken from the city's legislative wish list to the state.
Mayor David Bowers and Vice Mayor John Edwards, who will vacate his council seat Sunday because he has been elected to the state Senate, supported Wyatt's attempt to delete the request. But the other four council members voted to keep it.
Gary Stultz, president of the Roanoke Education Association, said the teachers' organization will lobby for a referendum despite the board's stand.
Like Edwards, Del. Clifton ``Chip'' Woodrum, D-Roanoke, favors a referendum on binding arbitration. But Del. Vic Thomas, D-Roanoke, opposes it.
"Why not let the people decide?" Woodrum said. "I think they should have the opportunity to decide whether teachers should be treated the same as other public employees."
The quality of schools didn't suffer during the 1970s when teachers had binding arbitration, he said.
There was little debate on the issue during the past session when the legislature gave initial approval, Woodrum said, but he expects more discussion next year.
Edwards said his belief that teachers deserve the same protection as other public workers will prompt him to vote for the referendum.
But Thomas said teachers "work for school boards, and I believe boards should have the final authority."
Teachers have access to the courts if they are unhappy with the school board's decision, he said.
The Roanoke School Board won't press the issue because city teachers, as well as Woodrum and Edwards, support binding arbitration, Chairman Nelson Harris said. The board won't change its position, he said. But it will focus more attention on other issues such as getting more state money for schools.
Harris expects the legislature to approve the arbitration legislation and schedule a referendum on it.
Salem Superintendent Wayne Tripp said the effort to get binding arbitration for teachers seems to conflict with the trend toward elected school boards.
"The bottom line is that you would have outsiders coming in and you are taking away decision-making powers from elected boards," Tripp said. "It seems to be a contradiction of the will of the people."
While some Salem teachers might not like the School Board's decision to oppose binding arbitration, they have not complained to the board, Tripp said.
Tripp questions the wisdom of amending the Constitution in this case. The state usually has a "very high threshold" of making constitutional changes only on major issues, he said.
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