EVERETT — An arbitrator has been called to try to resolve a dispute between the Everett School District and the Everett teachers union over the use of a video camera to monitor a teacher in her classroom.
The arbitrator was asked to help interpret a collective bargaining agreement that could influence the outcome of an unfair labor practice case filed by the 1,200-member Everett Education Association.
The union alleges the district committed an unfair labor practice by installing surveillance equipment in a Cascade High School teacher’s classroom in 2007. The state’s Public Employment Relations Commission on July 7 sent the matter to arbitration.
“The deferral to arbitration is not a ruling on the case,” said Doug Wartelle, an Everett attorney who represents the teachers union. “All it means is the issues may or may not be covered by the collective bargaining agreement. We don’t think they are covered by the bargaining agreement.”
Everett school officials were so pleased with the development that on Monday they distributed a press release and a special e-mail message from Superintendent Carol Whitehead.
The commission’s ruling shows the dispute over the use of the video camera is a contractual matter that ought to be handled in arbitration, not as an unfair labor practice as the union asserted, spokeswoman Mary Waggoner said.
“The collective bargaining agreement between Everett Public Schools and the Everett Education Association authorizes, in the district’s view, the use of video cameras as an investigative resource,” Whitehead said in her e-mail message.
Kim Mead, president of the Everett Education Association, said she didn’t feel “one way or the other” about the move to arbitration.
“The bottom line is we still have to get an answer — and I can’t imagine anyone saying it’s OK to bring video cameras into the classroom,” she said.
School officials hired a company to install the camera as part of an investigation into teacher Kay Powers, who ignored directives from Whitehead and helped students run an underground newspaper using school resources.
Powers was fired in the fall but reinstated in April after reaching a settlement with the district that allowed her to return to teaching by taking a position at Henry M. Jackson High School.
Whitehead has announced plans to retire in September. She received a death threat in a letter shortly after news became public about the camera in the classroom. Whitehead said the threat factored into her decision to retire earlier than planned. Everett police continue to investigate the threat.
Herald writer Scott North contributed to this story.
Reporter Kaitlin Manry: 425-339-3292 or kmanry@heraldnet.com.
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