The politics of being BOE Teacher Rep

The BOE Teacher Rep. is a political post by its very nature of appointment, with a mandate implied in the Constitution to speak and act in the best interest of the school appointed to help. It’s political and politics will always surface. As with any political election there were two candidates. I just happened to be the candidate that started it all and won. Now I’m being subjected to continuous public attacks by critics and sour losers—just like any other politician. But as with any political process, there is a silent majority of over 300 teachers who have given their consent in writing to me and their school rep. for representation and that’s the only thing that really matters. The teacher’s meeting was very successful because the Teacher Reps and teachers now know and understand that collective bargaining is the teachers’ baby and that I am their political appointee on the Board to assist teachers. We all owe Mr. Torres a big thank you for clarifying the issues.

Many teachers understand the politics of the BOE Teacher Rep. and they realize that opposition to empowering teachers had the potential to make things “ugly”, especially when there was clear opposition by one BOE member. But what I found interesting was it took only two BOE meetings and I was able to get a Committee created to address the teachers’ concerns. But it took me almost five years to get teachers to organize and to realize they do have the power and right to control their destiny as PSS employees—through collective bargaining. It was the politics of the Teacher Rep. post that caused teachers to become polarized.

The problem after the election is that there is still a handful of people that I can count on one hand that still want to play politics when they should be trying to be a part of the solution in empowering teachers. To demonstrate the power of politics, there are only five people who publicly politicized the Teacher Rep. issue and they were successful. There are over 580 teachers in the school system and they should not let the political antics of these five people prevent them from attending meetings and exercising their rights to a bargaining agreement.

Collective bargaining is a vehicle for all teachers to have their concerns addressed and resolved in a fair and equitable fashion. It is my job to assist teachers with acquiring a vehicle or mechanism to address their rights and concerns and I have done just that because collective bargaining is the law and not something I dreamed up. It took a lot off my shoulders and I was so glad to see teachers in the meeting finally realizing the burden is totally on teachers to pursue issues through bargaining when I can’t address or resolve the issue at the Board level. I am only too glad to see the School Reps being strong enough to stand on their own now.

There was a legitimate concern over my use of the term “I.” Yes, I have said a lot of “I’s” and if anyone works on something primarily alone for five years because no one else would take an interest, they would say I too. But I am very glad that I can now say “we teachers” and I can also appreciate the suggestion. I’m sorry if I offended some teachers but I really don’t feel bad about the “I” issue because if I hadn’t done something to empower teachers they wouldn’t be standing at the door for bargaining like they are now. I’m sure, in time, when teachers start reaping the benefits of my efforts, the “I” issue is something that teachers will be thankful for.

I do want to say a special thanks to Ms. Juanita S. Malone for admitting that I was on the right track with collective bargaining after realizing that the beating wasn’t politically correct. So now she is promoting collective bargaining and how the entire CNMI needs to be supportive. Your comments on this matter is obviously a direct result of political tactics of one BOE member that has been very successful in creating the impression that I am fighting with the entire Board. In fact, I have never fought with the Board and they will tell you so if you ever take time to ask. I have had disagreements with one BOE member who just doesn’t seem to like me and I can’t change that—so let’s just leave it at being part of the politics that comes with the post.

I truly hope the future BOE Teacher Reps will be as strong as I have been. Some people, and even some teachers, are going to treat the BOE Teacher Rep like a political football for their own political or personal agendas. It doesn’t matter that you have put your heart into helping teachers. It doesn’t matter that you are trying your very best to do it the right away. The BOE Teacher Rep has become a political target, especially if he or she is going to be outspoken about doing his or her job. But the good part about becoming a political target is the fact that you have been empowered to become a force with the potential to create real changes.

Even the negative and positive spins that were displayed in the media are another example of how political this matter has become and why the silent majority are afraid to even show their faces at meetings or speak out. One paper writes on the front page, “Disagreements mar teachers’ move for collective bargaining.” Only two teachers conducted themselves out of character and no one ever disagreed about collective bargaining. In fact, the meeting was very informative and productive because it produced a better understanding of the dynamics and factors involved and created a consensus plan among the school level reps. The other paper wrote on the second page, “Go on with bargaining process but be less adversarial,” which was much closer to the actual events that took place. The two different twist put on the story by the news is a clear example of how issues become polarized to the point of being politicized—even though it was not intentional. Mr. Torres was right on the money about everything he said, especially this adversarial attitude we teachers have had among ourselves that has been our own biggest enemy, causing us to fall for the politics that came with the election for BOE Teacher Rep. I truly hope and believe that the silent majority of teachers appreciate what I have been trying to do for them and that we all have learned from these events—even my critics. Once the election is over, it’s really time to drop the politics and for all teachers to be headed in one direction and create solutions to the many problems plaguing the entire public school system. (Ambrose M. Bennett)

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(The writer is the Board of Education Teacher Representative.)