HEA President Seeks Legal Opinion

After three successive Fridays of threatening e-mails delivered from the school district to teachers in their classroom, Holland Education Association President Charles Bullard requested a legal opinion from MEA general counsel Art Przyblowicz. That opinion was delivered to the school board at this Monday’s school board meeting by Van Raalte elementary teacher Ethel Barendse.

In Mr. Przybylowicz’s response he stated the following: “It is my further understanding that your members have been greatly disturbed by these aggressive and coercive messages while they fulfill their professional responsibilities. This disruption to the educational process flows from the Board’s continuing coercive and threatening remarks, as the teachers continue to perform their valuable services to the community in the face of threats they will be fired and lose their pay and benefits and dispite continued claims by representatives of the Board that the Board will impose a contract.”

Mr. Przybylowicz further stated, “Perhaps if the Board were more attentive to its own behavior and legal position in bargaining and less concerned with consistently threatening your members, more would be done to solve the differences between the parties.

The HEA should request that the District immediately cease and desist from threatening, intimidating and coercing teachers. Please be assured that MEA Legal Services will continue to assist your members to ensure that the Holland Board of Education ceases its improper conduct and immediately begins to negotiate in good faith.”

Charles Bullard stated after the school board meeting that Holland Education Association has amended its charges that the Holland School Board has violated the Public Employment Relations Act (“PERA”).