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By ANNE KAROLYI; Times Leader Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 21, 1993 Page: 3A QUICK WORDS: APPLE TEACHERS WANT TO
POLISH THEIR IMAGE
KINGSTON — School directors point. High taxes? Talk to the teachers, with
their budget-gobbling salaries.
Taxpayers battle. High taxes? Blame teachers, who are more interested in
money than their students.
And now, in the Wyoming Valley West School District, add another voice in
the educational arena. Teachers. They’re fed up, tired of being trod upon.
They call themselves the APPLE Group: Active Professionals Promoting
Learning and Excellence. And they really want to restore the public’s faith in
their much-maligned profession, said Gloria Bartnicki, a field representative
for the Pennsylvania State Education Association.
“Everybody speaks up about us. We need a forum,” said science teacher Fred
Frey, who spoke at Monday’s school board meeting. “And we’re using (the board
meetings) as our forum.”
Frey sent each of the district’s 350 teachers a letter asking them to
attend the meeting. About 150 people, mostly teachers, were in the audience
Monday. School board members said they thought their attendance was because of
their still unresolved contract dispute.
“Our goal is not to negotiate a contract or interfere with its negotiation
but to try to restore some dignity and confidence in our school district,”
Frey said in the letter. “We intend to address any situations that are
detrimental to our profession.”
At the meeting, Frey appealed for more parental involvement and for fair
hiring practices. He lauded the district’s students and teachers with a litany
of praise. He asked the board to help start a district newspaper, which would
highlight its activities and keep parents, teachers and students informed.
Afterward, director Jim Youngblood accused the union of using a “mob
mentality” by showing up, trying to sway the board about the contract. “I
wonder, after a contract is agreed upon, will the union still send letters to
all the teachers demanding they attend,” Youngblood said. “I doubt it.”
Frey said the teachers need a voice to counter the Wyoming Valley West
Taxpayers Association, which has called for salary freezes and merit pay for
teachers. Taxpayer Anne Balent of Luzerne said she would welcome any group
dedicated to education. The teachers probably are not that group, she said.
“That’s what we want, for them to work for education, not just money,”
Balent said. “We have to highlight the word education, not money, not the
dollar sign.”