The present impasse between the Bangor school administration (superintendent and school committee) and the teachers’ union, the Bangor Education Association (BEA), has caused this resident, property owner and taxpayer to become concerned, not only for myself, but for the people of Bangor and our city.

During the past couple months I have read numerous Bangor Daily News articles, listened and talked to teachers and others pertaining to the actions and feelings of the school department, administration, teachers and others. On Dec. 27, I talked at length with Superintendent Robert Irvin. My desire was to understand the reasons causing all the dissension in relationship to the teachers’ contract.

We discussed many items, including his and his assistant superintendent’s contracts, which I received copies of from him and of which I obtained our city manager’s contract at city hall before our meeting. I wanted these contracts so as a taxpayer I could compare them for affordability, integrity and fairness.

We also saw how our school administration works and the many facets of our school administration operation, financial affairs and capabilities, number of teachers employed, the lows and highs of our teachers’ salaries, benefits and overall contract contents. We discussed directives, regulations and policies that must be dealt with and followed, without getting into the impasse specifics, but broad areas of concern and overall feelings that are causing the impasse.

This impasse has caused much concern, developed innuendoes, hearsay, hard feelings and possible low morale amongst our teachers and others. Irvin expressed to me his admiration and concern for all teachers in the Bangor school system and he felt the administration and school committee had negotiated honestly and fairly with an open mind and adherence to financial capability and established directives, policies and rules.

It is no secret what issues are involved and causing this impasse. Items of concern to teachers are health insurance premiums, earned and personal leaves, salaries and some existing policies that need to be addressed with the highest amount of integrity, fairness and openness. The administration, department and school committee work for and should get direction from the people, not the reverse.

Our city solicitor provided me with a letter outlining how labor negotiations work and are subject to certain statutory requirements and limitations. Maine law provides that “either party” may “publicize the parties'” written collective bargaining proposals, no proposals may be publicized until 10 days after the parties have made their initial proposals. There is no provision in the law for disclosure of other proposals of either party during the course of the negotiations, “Although the parties can agree to publicly disclose their negotiations.”

It is time for the school administration, school committee and teachers (their representatives) to disclose each of their negotiated items, concerns and each other’s acceptance or non-acceptance and reasons supporting their decisions. All parties need to put all their cards on the table for all to see, for this is the only way for Bangor residents and taxpayers to judge for themselves if the school administration, committee and teachers’ demands and proposals are accurate, done with integrity, fairness and financial affordability and capability.

We have a fine public education system in Bangor which is admired by many. But we the people collectively whom the system serves, must acknowledge what makes our system work and do what it does, for it is our school administration, committee members, teachers, parents, students and all residents and taxpayers working together in harmony, support and unity in an above board manner encompassed with caring, compassion, fairness and integrity that creates acceptance, affordability and understanding by all. This is a big order and one that has to be continually worked on at all levels.

Arbitration, fact-finding and review boards take much effort and time and in the end, if the initial negotiations were done with fairness, financial ability, integrity, objectivity and understanding with all cards on the table, could possibly been avoided. For these reviews and these suggestions and recommendations are merely that and are nonbinding on the decision-makers. In the case of the teachers’ contracts it is the school committee members who will make the final decision.

So, let’s get beyond this impasse.

Negotiate with city staff and establish a program for televising our public school meetings, the same as city council meetings are covered on television. This would give residents who do not attend meetings an opportunity to see how the school administration, committee and staff conduct our people’s business. This would go a long way toward a better understanding of how our school system in general and those responsible for its operation perform.

Communique, the Bangor newspaper, put out by the school department, is an excellent source of information for the schools, but it reports only the positives. To be fair and honest, issues that are not so good need improved coverage, public support should be more openly identified, publicized and reported. No program or thing is perfect, all the time.

Relocate the present school committee meetings, held at the Abraham Lincoln School, to another location for the following reasons: poor parking, acoustics, seating – old folding metal back-breaking chairs for the public to sit on during meetings – lack of adequate microphones for staff to use during meetings, and these public meetings should be held at a more centrally located site and publicized, so as to encourage public attendance at school business and general meetings.

Charles J. Birkel is a resident of Bangor.