Judge backs coach’s request for arbitration

ROCKLAND – A SAD 5 teacher who was passed over for two district coaching positions scored a favorable ruling Friday from a Knox County Superior Court justice, who decided arbitration is appropriate.

In August, SAD 5 had filed a request that the court “stay arbitration” with the SAD 5 Teachers Association.

Justice John Atwood ruled in a written decision that “because this dispute between the parties is based on a contract provision that cannot, based on this record, be characterized as entailing educational policy, it is not clearly [a violation] of legislative policy and is subject to arbitration as the parties’ agreement plainly provides.”

Previously, Rockland District Middle School teacher Donald Guilford of Thomaston had filed a grievance with the teachers association for not being chosen for two stipend coaching jobs – boys varsity baseball and girls varsity softball at Rockland District High School. The SAD 5 board later denied his grievance and Guilford asked for arbitration.

The grievance was based on the Sept. 1, 1998, to Aug. 31, 2001, collective bargaining agreement which states that “the most qualified person shall be hired for all stipend positions. When the qualifications for such positions are equal or nearly equal, preference shall be given to members of the district certified professional staff,” according to the court motion requesting a stay of arbitration.

On Friday, John Conlogue, chairman of the teachers association’s professional rights and responsibilities committee, said that he was very pleased with the judge’s decision.

The ruling has “proved us right,” he said.

Guilford could not be reached for comment.

According to Conlogue, stipend positions, at one time, were covered under a “just cause” provision. In negotiations, the just cause clause was removed, he said, in exchange for the condition to give district teachers preference for stipend jobs.

Three to four weeks ago, a request for arbitration was filed with the Maine Labor Relations Board, Conlogue said, but no date had been assigned. The district and the teachers association will split the cost of arbitration, he said.

When contacted Friday, SAD 5’s attorney, Melissa Hewey of Portland, was not aware of the judge’s ruling. After Hewey reviewed the documents, she said it was too soon to comment on whether it would be appealed, since she was unable to discuss the judge’s order with district officials.

In a June letter to Guilford denying his grievance, SAD 5 board Chairwoman Julie Raye wrote that there was no violation of the collective bargaining agreement as far as preference to district staff, because the superintendent had nominated the most qualified applicants for the positions based on legitimate criteria.

In addition, Raye stated that the superintendent had determined that Guilford’s qualifications were not considered equal or nearly equal to that of the successful applicants and that to hire someone less qualified would conflict with the board’s responsibility under Maine law.

In the request to stay arbitration, SAD 5 had argued that arbitration was not appropriate, because Maine law holds that teacher selection and appointments are not subject to arbitration.

The point behind the Legislature’s mandate to have superintendents and school boards fill teaching positions is to avoid a labor agreement resulting in a less qualified teacher being hired, according to the judge’s ruling.

The other argument made by SAD 5 was that the hiring of a coach is a matter of educational policy and is therefore excluded from collective bargaining.

On that point, Justice Atwood decided that the contract provision – based on the record – could not be characterized as involving educational policy.

Guilford, who has taught math at the middle school for more than seven years, has a lengthy coaching record. In August, Guilford said he had coached varsity basketball for 19 years, with 207 wins. He coached varsity boys basketball for two years at RDHS and was assistant coach for boys varsity basketball at Bucksport High School.

Guilford also played semiprofessional baseball and coached high school softball, Conlogue said last summer.