Those familiar with the allegations against the Ripley’s teachers’ union’s former president believe bringing in a third-party mediator would be beneficial for resolving the dispute.  Many are questioning the most recent efforts by the school district to resolve the problem.

The union recently announced a no confidence vote in leadership within the school district.  As a result, the Ripley Board of Ed hired Bridge-it Evaluation Services from Bemus Point.  They are paying between the mediation service $7500 and $15,000 on interviews with board members, union reps, administration, and non-instructional personnel.  The service will try to find ways to get the two sides to compromise and resolve the ongoing issues without needing to go to court.

One of the issues includes a complaint by the teachers’ union described in a letter to the local newspaper.  The union described the culture of the school as hostile and expressed that many teachers were experience “fear and anxiety. ”  According to the letter, teachers were most concerned about “communication, trust collaboration, decision making, vision, and a lack of respect. ” They also claimed some staff had been bullied. 

Those who believe third-party mediation could offer a solution believe it would be difficult for teachers and the union in general to trust someone who is a former interim superintendent.  This concern arose because the former superintendent is actually involved in the current mediation plan, though he claims he would not be directly involved in the mediation process, nor the interviews of the staff.  These are the people asking that a third-party be brought in to handle the process.