Cambridge School Committee to Consider Expanding Union Leaders’ Speech Time | News

The Cambridge School Committee has been discussing how to discuss at committee meetings.

In recent weeks, the conversation has centered on how much time union leaders have to speak at meetings — and how to formalize rules around allocating time for public comment.

At the Oct. 1 School Committee meeting, committee members Rachel B. Weinstein and José Luis Rojas Villarreal proposed a motion that would extend speaking time for union leaders with business with CPS — including Dan Monahan, president of the Cambridge Education Association , the union for Cambridge Public School Educators — three to six minutes.

During the meeting, 13 parents and teachers also made public comments in support of the motion, which is scheduled for discussion at the committee’s Oct. 15 meeting, according to the Cambridge Public Schools website.

The courtesy extension was first offered informally during Vice Mayor Marc C. McGovern’s tenure as mayor from 2018 to 2020, he said, to “improve the relationship between the School Committee and the union.”

“We were trying to make an effort to work more collaboratively with the union,” McGovern said, adding that the union felt it “couldn’t get to everything it wanted to say.”

But in recent meetings, no such extensions have been offered.

At the September 17 School Committee meeting, committee members voted against extending Monahan’s speaking time. The vote, as well as Mayor E. Denise Simmons’ reference to Monahan as “the gentleman who usually talks,” prompted 17 parents to express frustration on a parent email list.

Monahan also spoke at the Oct. 1 meeting, but was interrupted three minutes before addressing the motion.

In the excerpted portion of his comments — which Monahan emailed to The Crimson — he planned to tell the committee that passing the motion would be “a symbolic recognition that you, the school committee, value the contributions of educators and the CEA.” ”

In an interview with The Crimson, Monahan said the abandonment of the courtesy extension occurred without warning or discussion, which he considered “disrespectful.”

“Any time there is disrespect from one organization to another, it will have an impact,” Monahan said of the CEA and School Committee relationship. “I am hopeful that we will be able to resolve this. If that’s the case, we’ll be in a better place.”

At the October 1 meeting, CRLS professor Duncan MacLaury emphasized the importance of extending the CEA president’s time as a means of “reaching out to the public” who may be able to offer support to the union.

In July, the School Committee approved new contracts for paraprofessionals and family liaisons, ending months-long processes fraught with protests. In December, the committee ratified new teacher contracts.

In recent years, lengthy contract negotiations have resulted in educators leaving School Committee meetings and dozens of charged public comments. Parents expressed support for educators through public comments and emails to the parent list.

Simmons wrote in a statement to The Crimson that she valued “justice and equity for all voices who want to be heard.”

“Granting an extended public comment period to one group, even if that group represents an educators union, raises questions about why this courtesy should not be extended to all unions,” she wrote, “or to other constituencies that also may feel they have meaningful perspectives to share.”

During the October 1 meeting, CPS legal counsel Maureen A. MacFarlane also advised against the motion.

“The School Committee should not treat public speakers differently from one another based on their views or what organization they belong to or what organization they represent,” MacFarlane said, citing a ruling from the “recent Massachusetts Supreme Court ”.

Instead, MacFarlane recommended that the committee invite union representatives to present during the meeting itself, drawing parallels to presentations made by two school principals at the October 1 meeting, who were invited to speak about recent awards they had received. Their remarks were listed under “Presentations” on the meeting agenda.

While Monahan said he would be open to an agenda item like the CEA’s speaking apparatus, he proposed revisiting another long-standing practice: giving the CEA a physical seat at the table.

“In fact, this used to happen many years ago, to have a CEA seat at the School Committee table — just like there is a student seat on the School Committee,” Monahan said. “He is a member without voting rights, but he can participate in discussions or ask questions.”

“That would be far preferable to public comment or even an agenda item,” he added.

According to Monahan, a seat at the table was customary for former Mayor Kenneth E. Reeves in 1972. Councilwoman Patricia M. “Patty” Nolan ’80 – who served on the School Committee during Reeves’ second term as mayor – wrote in a text message that she couldn’t remember if such a seat existed.

Despite advocating for greater union representation at School Committee meetings, Monahan said he has no hope that such customs will be implemented.

“I’m not very optimistic — given our current School Committee population — but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility either,” Monahan said.

—Staff writer Darcy G Lin can be reached at [email protected].

—Staff writer Emily T. Schwartz can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @EmilySchwartz37