Published: March 08, 2007 12:00 am

Teachers vote against Laboy

By Jessica Benson , Staff writer
Eagle-Tribune

LAWRENCE - Ninety-eight percent of teachers packed into a room agreed - they have no confidence in School Superintendent Wilfredo Laboy.

The Lawrence Teachers Union voted by secret ballot to approve the no confidence vote at their monthly meeting yesterday afternoon. An estimated 300 teachers attended the two-hour-long meeting at the Knights of Columbus on Market Street.

Only five teachers voted to continue supporting their superintendent.

"The teachers in Lawrence are saying we've had enough," said union President Frank McLaughlin, who said the main areas of concern for teachers were Laboy's refusal to meet with them, fire safety violations at some schools and the overcrowding at the high school.

But Laboy said he doesn't see how a "no confidence" vote will help solve any problems or improve communications between teachers and school administrators.

"I'm saddened to see that this is how they communi cate," he said. "It's divisive. It's not productive."

Yet the union was not divided in its vote. McLaughlin had predicted that the vote would be "overwhelming," but even he was surprised by the high turnout and the high number of teachers voting in favor of the measure.

"I was shocked. I thought it would be overwhelming, but not 98 percent," he said. "Ninety-eight percent of teachers can't be wrong."

Laboy emphasized that not all of the union's 880 members attended the meeting, meaning the majority of the system's teachers did not participate. The union was unable to say exactly how many teachers cast ballots.

Laboy also noted the timing of the vote - on the brink of contract negotiations, due to start within months.

But union leaders say they have real concerns about the overcrowding at the high school and the lack of student discipline. Most of all, they want Laboy to communicate with them. McLaughlin said one of the main frustrations the union has with the superintendent is that he has failed to hold monthly meetings with union leadership, as required by contract.

"You can't have a solution without a meeting," McLaughlin said.

Laboy admits he has missed some meetings with the union. Yet he also complains that the meetings he does have are not productive.

"All I hear from the union president is grievance, grievance, grievance. Give me solutions," he said. "All that does is give a litany of problems."

Indeed, McLaughlin does have a list of issues he wants to see addressed - everything from empty fire extinguishers found at the high school to the "endless" bureaucratic paperwork teachers are forced to contend with. But many of the issues are serious enough to warrant taking the vote, he said.

The last time the Lawrence Teachers Union voted no confidence in a superintendent was in 1999, when Mae Gaskins was at the helm of the department. Unlike yesterday's secret ballot, that vote was taken by a show of hands, and was not nearly as one-sided as the vote against Laboy, McLaughlin said.

Gaskins was fired amid questions about her spending the year after the union's vote. Laboy also has been criticized for some of his spending in the past, including spending $490 of taxpayers' money to install running boards of his city-leased SUV as well as another $269 for a remote car starter. Laboy ended up reimbursing the city for the cost.

Laboy also came under fire in 2003 when it was revealed he flunked a literacy test the state mandates for all educators three times. He passed on his fourth try.

As of last night, the union did not have any plans for formally notifying Laboy of the vote against him. McLaughlin was planning to meet with the union's executive board today to discuss the next step.

Already, teachers are gearing up for a media campaign designed to spread the word about the school system's problems. Steve Crawford of the Arlington-based public relations firm Crawford Strategies, is assisting the union with the campaign.

Crawford, who also acts as a spokesman for the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers and the union representing Boston teachers, said it is rare for teachers unions to vote their lack of confidence in a superintendent. He hopes school administrators respond by talking to the teachers and addressing their concerns.

"This is not something that teachers have taken lightly, and it's unfortunate that it's reached this point," Crawford said. "It deserves a good, hard look."