Cooperstown Faculty Association Calls for Board Intervention in District Disputes
By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZELCOOPERSTOWN
At the Cooperstown Central School District board meeting on Wednesday, April 22, the Cooperstown Faculty Association, the union representing regular full-time, part-time, probationary, and tenured teachers, wanted to make a statement.
When union co-president and decades-long teacher Rebecca Burk-Sciallo rose to speak during public comment, over a dozen other faculty wearing black shirts with orange text reading “Cooperstown Faculty Association” rose beside her. The move reflects a continued escalation arc, where for months now CFA members have taken to public comment to express concerns about district practices.
“We want to begin by acknowledging the Board of Education and the work you do to support our students, staff and the future of CCS,” Burk-Sciallo said. “Over the past year, the CFA has consistently communicated openly and transparently serious concerns regarding leadership and follow through at the district level. The data reflects this.”
She pointed to 18 labor grievances filed with the district since the start of the school year, half of which advanced past informal and formal stages to the third stage, Board of Education review. In a later interview, Burk-Sciallo said most of those cases have been rectified.
“These are not isolated incidents. They are the direct results of repeated failures to follow contractual obligations and established procedures,” Burk-Sciallo said.
The speech, which addressed wide ranging concerns from the responsiveness of the district when concerns are brought forward to long-delayed faculty evaluations, concluded that “the relationship between district leadership and the Faculty Association has become untenable.” On behalf of her union colleagues, Burk-Sciallo asked “urgently for the Board of Education to intervene when the chain of command fails.”
