Is Harford County Public Schools blocking e-mails from the president of the teachers’ union to Harford teachers?
Acting on a tip from a reader, The Dagger contacted the president of the Harford County Education Association, Randy Cerveny, who confirmed that e-mails he sent to teachers through the schools’ e-mail system were suddenly not being received, nor were the e-mails kicked back to him as undeliverable. Cerveny said Tuesday that he didn’t know the reason, and he had received no explanation from Harford County Public Schools.
So, The Dagger contacted HCPS to find out what was going on and why. We got the following response from spokesperson Teri Kranefeld indicating that, among other things, the Harford County Education Association (HCEA) has now filed a grievance over the issue:
“HCEA has specific language written into their agreement regarding communication. The Board upholds and honors its commitments. I have linked the negotiated agreement. The specific language can be found on page 4, item 4.9. In addition, I have learned that HCEA has filed a grievance. We will proceed with the normal grievance procedures but won’t be able to comment any further at this time.”
Here’s the section of the negotiated agreement cited above:
“The Association may utilize the inter-school courier service and the Harford County Public Schools’ e-mail system for the distribution of its newsletter and for membership material. Other materials which have been approved by the Superintendent may also be distributed.”
If the school board “upholds and honors its commitments” then maybe the e-mails were lost unintentionally, the result of a technical glitch soon corrected, and Cerveny’s missives will flow freely again.
Or, maybe Superintendent Robert Tomback hadn’t approved of “other materials” as noted in the agreement, and Cerveny’s e-mails were quietly blocked as a result.
One thing is for sure, Randy Cerveny has been an outspoken HCEA president. On more than one occasion, he packed school board meetings with teachers in red t-shirts asking for “Respect & Time”. Most recently, he objected publicly to the way a proposed 2% salary cut was buried in the superintendent’s budget and he remains a vocal opponent of the cuts for teachers.
This is a developing story.
Wow, if this was the superintendant’s doing because he didn’t approve this is certainly a back handed way of dealing with it. How long is his term?
If the mail server at Harford County Education Association is not correctly configured, has faulty MX records or fails to respond to identity queries, this would cause exactly the problem described.
Incoming mail will not de delivered because the sending server fails to respond correctly, and therefore the incoming mail is discarded.
There would be no rejection notice as the recipient server would not know where to send that rejection.
Quite simply, the sending server at Harford County Education Association probably does not comply wih RFC 2822 (One of the basic rulesets of the internet)
If the undelivered messages were a system glitch, a simple response to that nature would have been in order from HCPS.
Quoting the wording of the negotiated agreement points to censorship of the HCEA’s messages “as agreed”.
Coledata: I really hope that what you mentioned above was already taken into account and looked at before he filed the grievance. Otherwise it does not look very good in the eyes of the Board Of Ed on the teachers who are already fighting to stop a pay cut.I really truely hope he had a technician come out and look things over and make sure his computer was working properly.
It seems clear to me that this was not a “technical glitch”. In fact, the union president is very tech savvy, serving in the role of technology liaison and technology teacher at BAHS for years before being elected to his position. I understood that all technical problems were eliminated before Mr. Cerveny contacted HCPS to question why his emails, or those from the state teacher’s association, were being filtered from the membership.
I am a HCPS teacher. We got a communication from HCEA today and it explained that Mr. Cerveny had called the HCPS help desk to ask about his e-mail and was told his account had been deleted. It was not a case of “technical glitch;” it is a case of a superintendent who wants to silence any opposition to his plan. Mr. Cerveny’s e-mails about the 2% paycut have been very professional. In fact, when asking teachers to come to the meetings and speak, he alwasy reminds members of the 3 minute time limit and the need to keep the remarks professional, focused, and positive in suggesting solutions.
That is good to hear that it was not a technical glitch. However, it is very disturbing that HCPS did that although I don’t put it past them to do stuff like that. Then they wonder why the morale is so low with teachers.
When Mr. Cerveny calls taxprotesters “Tea-youknowwhat”; is that “professional????
That is not the case. The HCEA president’s email orriginates from MSEA and works fine when not otherwise impeded.
If it wasn’t a newsletter or other membership material then they had every right to stop it. If HCEA doesn’t agree they should try to negotiate that out in the next contract. Unions like this are at the root of the entitlement issues we are now faced with.
HCEA is not a union, and not does it have union powers other than a limited collective barganing power.
His emails have not had any issues until now. Wonder why?
North Harford, please remember that the Boe tells HCEA what parts of the contract can be negotiated and which can’t. What entitlements are you refering to?
It would be interesting to know if any other person suffered from the “technical glitch”. The Supertendent was very appreciative when Mr. Cerveny rallied the teachers, with similar type newsletters, to oppose the repeal of impact fees. I understand he actually asked the president of HCEA to do this. But when the union leader informs the members of a PUBLIC meeting regarding potential cuts in funds that will adversely impact all employees and students, there is a “technical glitch” in his email?
Regarding negotiations, the entire contract is always open for negotiations. That being said, the Code of Maryland (COMAR) allows only certain things to be negotiated. COMAR puts restrictions on what can and cannot be negotiated, not the BOE. History in Maryland has demonstrated that even when legal items are brought to the table for negotiations, the BOE can deem those subjects “illegal” to bargain. The union can challenge that decision, but the Board that currently hears the appeal is the State Board of Ed, led by N. Grasmick. That is one very good reason every teacher in Maryland, along with anyone who cares about the “technical glitches” in life, should actively support the Fairness in Negotiations bill down in Annapolis!
Perhaps you’ll want to tell the writer that….the first sentence….”Is Harford County Public Schools blocking e-mails from the president of the teachers’ UNION to Harford teachers?” …… (I capitalized it for you) Call it what you want, but it’s a union, it represents it’s members to their management.
Since you seem to understand this so much, what exactly was in the missing emails?? Perhaps it was material not approved by the superintendent, thats all it takes.
One side of an arbitration is always telling the other what they can/can’t negotiate, thats the whole point of it. Effective negotiators realize that is part of it and negotiate those areas anyways.
The entitlement I am refering to, is his feeling that his emails should go without being examined. By contract it tells him they can’t. Just because they have in the past, doesn’t mean they will in the future.
I am a HCPS teacher. We got a communication from HCEA today and it explained that Mr. Cerveny had called the HCPS help desk to ask about his e-mail and was told his account had been deleted. It was not a case of “technical glitch;” it is a case of a superintendent who wants to silence any opposition to his plan. Mr. Cerveny’s e-mails about the 2% paycut have been very professional. In fact, when asking teachers to come to the meetings and speak, he alwasy reminds members of the 3 minute time limit and the need to keep the remarks professional, focused, and positive in suggesting solutions.
North Harford,
As far as the use of the term Union, you would have to direct that to the author of the article. Just because someone uses the easiest term of reference does not always mean it is correct.
You are correct about normal arbitration, but this is not normal arbitration. HCPS dictates what will only be discussed and what will not, such as inservice days which they have refused to discuss with HCEA.
As far as the content of the emails, they encouraged attending public hearings that have direct impact on teachers professional future. If these are not proper then I would hope that we see an end to the emails encouraging teachers to attend school functions and schill for fundraisers.
It is clear that you have a heavy bias against the teachers and facts are irrelavent.
Remember, when Octavian silenced, and liquidated, his critics the Senate marched lock step to proclaming him Ceaser…but big deal. Free speach is over-rated.
Octavian? Caesar? You’ve got to be kidding!
This is a Greek tragedy all right, but not the way you think it is.
Octavian and Caesar were Romans not Greeks.
I hope that the HCEA has learned by this that if they would like to alert their members through the HCPS e-mail system that their employer plans to try to quietly pass a through a budget with a 2% pay cut, if they send it IN THE FORMAT OF THEIR NEWSLETTER, then HCPS would be contractually obligated to pass this information on to their employees.
Gee, what if HCPS were just honest about it from the start? Maybe one less article in the Dagger!
What they should have is a separate mailing list set up using only personal email addresses so that there’s nothing the BoE, Tomback, or anyone else in administration can do or say about it.
Unfortunately, contratry to Ms. Kranefeld’s assertions neither HCPS does nto have the habbit of honoring its contracts or negotiating in good faith.
And perhaps in the interest of full disclosure, you should mention that you are on the HCEA Board of Directors.
http://www.harfordcea.org/PDF/BOD/Bod%2007-08.pdf
Phil,
A Greek tragedy is when a hero suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless, so who would be the hero?
The Romans were centered on excess and the ruthless quest for power via deception and manipulation. Octavian publicly portrayed himself as the protector of Republican virtue, while packing the Senate full of lapdogs that would bend to his will. All critics were discredited, exiled, or eliminated.
You may be right that coating Dr. Tomback as Octavian. He is not the first to use these tactics whille in that office and have the BOE nod smiling to whatever they are told as if it is gospel. Maybe Caligula or Claudius would be a better comparison. Or maybe one of the Flavians?
Peanut,
Remember, honesty and politics never make good bedfellows…
This is simple political manipulating. Threat to cut salaries, and those who can retire will do so clearing some extra money. Mid-level admin and feathers will look to other counties that are maintaining or increasing salaries clearing even more money while having the ability to bring in replacements at a lower cost. Kind of reminds you of corperate America in the 90’s…
Plus it puts the county exec and council in a position to have be the axmen (thus the bad guys) or come up with more money. People will give their elected officials an earful to come up with more money so that the schools don’t have to cut programs as well as salaries. Oh, by the way it’s an election year…
Meanwhile, the teacher who do the educating, oh yeah, and the children are the pawns in the middle…
Politics as usual…
I mean teachers not feathers…
This is not a surprising event. The same superintendent who censored President Obama’s speech to students,hid the 2% per cent cut of empoyee wages in the middle of a 500 page document, did not announce the cut in a public presentation or in a web site summary is not above the petty and self defeating act of attempting to cut off the teachers from their source of information about his hidden plans. Like most bullys Dr. Tomback fears open discssion of his actions. He has yet to make the teachers or his community aware of his plans and has provided no justifications beyond Mrs. Kranfields platitudes. At best incompetent at worse a bully and coward this man is an obstacle in the path of enlightened discussion and progress. As a teacher of 39 years in this school district I have seen no one who posseses this mans lack of perception or leadership skills. Tom Berg North Harford Middle School Pylesville Maryland
On the other hand, I have never seen a teacher of 39 years who possesses your lack of spelling and punctuation skills.
Nice observation.