Teachers move to oust president

[Zacha341]

http://www.freep.com/article/2009122...oust-president

Posted: Dec. 20, 2009

Teachers move to oust president

Union Vote: DPS contract OK'd, including $10,000 deferments Grievance: Critics of DFT leader say they will force a recall vote

BY GINA DAMRON and CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

On the heels of the Detroit Federation of Teachers approving a contract agreement with Detroit Public Schools, an effort to oust the union president is heating up.

Union members said Saturday they've nearly collected the 1,000 signatures needed to force a revote on Keith Johnson -- a driving force behind the contract, which requires most union members to defer $10,000 in pay and calls for wide-ranging school reforms.

"We're not going to accept this," Heather Miller, a teacher at Marquette Elementary involved in the recall effort, said Saturday, adding that a grievance has been filed over the voting process, including alleged flawed voter rosters and what those who filed the grievance consider wrongly placing information on the ballot about the dangers of a no vote. She said a hearing date on the grievance has not yet been set.

"This is about the future of Detroit, the future of our school district," she said.

Johnson said that recalling him is going to take more than signatures. First, the opposition group would present its case to the union membership and he would have 30 days to respond and mount his own defense. The membership could then decide whether he violated the office of president and vote on whether to remove him, Johnson said.

If that happens, he said, the executive vice president would serve as interim president until a special election is held.

But Johnson said he isn't worried, "because there is no substance to any of the charges."
DPS and Detroit leaders applauded the union for approving the contract, which promises to repay the $10,000 to the employee upon his or her departure from the district.
Union leaders announced early Saturday that the contract passed by a vote of 3,578 to 2,031. Some ballots were thrown out because they were defaced with writing and messages, officials said.

The $10,000 deferment will be deducted from paychecks over the next two years, but some hourly workers, such as substitute teachers, are exempt. The contract also calls for peer evaluations, shared decision-making with administrators and incentive pay.

Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager for DPS, said the contract recognizes how important teachers are to improving performance. "It underlines the fact that, in the end, the most important moment in the school day is when teachers close the door to their classroom and begin teaching," Bobb said in a statement.

[DetroitTeacher]

I am skeptical of anything with the names of Heather Miller and Steve Conn in them. Those two are married and worry me because they are a bit TOO radical.