Privatization News
Hard lessons learned in Garden City
'You need to get involved in school board elections and stay involved,' says a custodian whose job was privatized and who is leading a recall of school board members.
Local association president Bob LeFevre
holds one of the yard signs distributed in Garden City to encourage voters to recall school board members who voted to privatize the jobs of custodians and food service workers. “We want to elect a school board that is responsive to our community,” LeFevre said. “The board ignored the community.” As a head carpenter for the district, LeFevre did not lose his job when the board hired outsiders. He has worked for the district for years.GARDEN CITY—When privatization reared its ugly head in Garden City two years ago, support staff successfully fought back by engaging the public.
Hundreds of residents opposed outsourcing jobs, and school board members ceded to public pressure.
The stay was short-lived, however. In June, the board hired two outside companies and fired 33 custodians and food service workers, despite continued community opposition.
The board voted unanimously with no discussion, ignoring the Garden City ESP local’s willingness to bargain over financial issues. And, in an unusual move, the district closed the day after the vote and had police on site when it officially informed employees two days later.
Former custodian Rick Smith is now leading a recall drive targeting five school board members; this working class community is furious about the board’s decision and eager to sign recall petitions.
And while the recall may be too late for the custodians and food service workers, it could save bus drivers and aides, whose jobs have also been threatened.
Electing board members who support public schools—and the people who work in them—is one of the best strategies to fight privatization.
“You better be proactive right now—or you’re going to lose your job,” Smith warns.
In Garden City, the former employees say the importance of school board elections—and developing relationships with board members—is the biggest, albeit painful, lesson learned.
One of the school board members who voted for privatization was actually a local association-recommended candidate for the school board who once opposed privatization. In hindsight, the school employees should have maintained stronger ties with board members, they said.
“We didn’t talk as much as we should have,” Smith laments. “You need to get involved in school board elections and stay involved.”