ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 23, 1996 TAG: 9611250133
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
Roanoke elementary teacher Gary Stultz has quit as president of the Roanoke Education Association because of conflicts with some of the teachers' organization's leaders and its executive director, Gary Waldo.
Neither Stultz nor Waldo would comment on the reasons for the unexpected resignation, but several teachers said privately that Stultz apparently wasn't outspoken enough to suit some REA members.
They want the REA to assume a higher profile and to become "more assertive" when it disagrees with the School Board and school administration.
"I've always tried to have a positive attitude about the schools and children," said Stultz, a fourth-grade teacher at Fallon Park Elementary who was in his second year as president. "I don't want to say any more and face a possible lawsuit."
Several members of REA's executive committee have also quit, Waldo said Friday, but he denied that the teacher's organization is divided.
"We're not fighting among ourselves," Waldo said. " We have reconstituted the executive committee and we're planning for the future. We have a sense of unity."
Esther Cirasunda, librarian at Garden City Elementary, has been chosen to succeed Stultz. A longtime REA activist, she had been executive vice president of the organization in the past year.
Cirasunda has worked in Roanoke schools for 23 years and worked two years in Botetourt County early in her career.
"I have lived in the city and raised my children here. They went to city schools and I am committed to the city school system," she said.
Cirasunda said she expects the teachers' group to become more vocal with its concerns about the lack of administrative support on discipline and other issues.
She said a recent survey of teachers shows that many feel that principals and central administrators don't always back them up when they discipline disruptive students.
Waldo said this is a major issue with teachers. Teachers at approximately a third of the city's schools can't rely on administrators for support when they discipline students, he said.
REA officials have talked with an unidentified School Board member about the formation of an independent panel to study the discipline issue and other aspects of the school system, Waldo said. "It would be a blue ribbon type group to analyze the discipline issue and the whole educational climate and to make recommendations."
The teachers' group is "not out to get everyone and we're not saying everything is bad or that we have a crisis," he said. "But we're saying there are problems in some areas and we need to deal with them."
Waldo said some teachers are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the School Board partly because of its recent decision to overturn a grievance panel decision that favored a teacher.
"It was unbelievable that the board would overrule the panel," said Cirasunda. "The teacher was exonerated and then the board overturned the decision."
Teachers also are unhappy that the board's legislative requests for the 1997 General Assembly include a plea to retain its power to overturn employee grievance panel findings, Waldo said.
Irate City Council members voted earlier this week to strip the request from the board's legislative package.
Waldo said the teachers' organization appreciates the commitment by the board and council to raise teachers to the national pay average and to reduce class size in elementary grades.
"We feel good about some things and we're not trying to tar and feather everyone. This is not a witch hunt, but we're pointing out some specific problems," he said.
Some teachers are so unhappy with the appointed school board that they now favor a switch to an elected board, Waldo said, but the REA has not taken a stand on the issue. "We're still gathering information and have not made a decision."
Waldo said teachers are disappointed that a majority of the current board members "won't look beyond what school administrators tell them" and seek information from independent sources.
The teachers are grateful for pay increases in recent years, but they have concerns about some educational issues that don't necessarily require more money, Cirasunda said.
"We're dealing with different kinds of problems and we're trying to make the schools better for the children," she said. "We're not just concerned about salaries and money."
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Esther Cirasunda, Garden Cityby CNBElementary School librarian, is the new president of the Roanoke
Education Association. KEYWORDS: 2DA