Digital Bulletin

CUMBERLAND -- Summer vacation for Cumberland public school students didn't end this morning as it was supposed to. And there's a chance it could continue for another day.

After delaying the first day of school for one hour this morning because of an unsettled teachers contract, the district canceled classes after teachers voted unanimously not to come to work today.

After picketing outside the high school today, the striking teachers were due to meet again tomorrow morning to decide on what step to take next.

Tonight, yet another mediation session is being held in a bid to come to agreement on a new contract.

Despite the uncertainty, school administrators say they are planning to start classes tomorrow.

At least 40 teachers were picketing outside the high school this morning and said teachers at the district's other schools were doing the same. They carried signs that read: "We are only asking for respect," "High-performing schools -- lowest paid," "Treat teachers fairly."

Schools superintendent Donna A. Morelle said this morning: "We're absolutely making progress. Everyone in the school department and on the negotiating team is still committed to an agreement."

Talks that began last evening with the mediator broke off sometime early this morning, between 2:30 and 3:30 a.m., Morelle said. The night before, both sides had also begun a mediation session at 6 p.m. Monday that lasted until 3:30 a.m. yesterday.

About 400 of the union's approximately 428 members attended a membership meeting at 6 a.m. today to decide whether to go to school despite the lack of a contract, Union President Rod McGarry said this morning.

They'll do the same again tomorrow morning, he said.

"We're really looking at this as a day-to-day [decision]," he said.

This morning's vote was unanimous "to not come to work today and to not go into school," McGarry said.

The union isn't using the word "strike" to describe today's situation, he said.

However, Random House Dictionary defines a strike as "work stoppage or a withdrawal of workers' services, as to compel an employer to accede to workers' demands or in protest against terms or conditions imposed by an employer."

This morning around 8:30 a.m., high school Principal Stephen Driscoll said perhaps 10 students arrived at the school unaware of the situation in the district.

School was officially canceled, Morelle said, after McGarry called her at 7:20 a.m. and told her that "teachers took a vote not to report to work today."

"So in reaction to that vote, the district canceled school," Morelle said.

However, even at 8 a.m., the district's Web site still said there was just a one-hour delay. At 8:17 a.m., Morelle said the district was working to update the site.

An hour delay would have started the high school at 8:30 a.m.

Morelle said the decision for the one-hour delay was to allow teachers to attend their 6 a.m. union meeting.

She said she was "quite dumbfounded" that teachers decided not to come to school today, considering some attended teacher orientation sessions Monday and all attended their professional development sessions yesterday.

McGarry said the union certainly wanted students and parents notified of the situation as soon as possible, but it's not up to the union to cancel school. He said the 6:50 a.m. vote by union members today was followed by more discussion. As soon as he could, he said he called Morelle -- checking his cell phone's outgoing calls, he said he placed the call at 7:15 a.m.

Until 8:04 a.m. today, the Cumberland High School sign in front of the school that's emblazoned with the words, "Committed to Excellence," displayed this message: "Welcome back to school Aug. 30."

Two men who identified themselves as Cumberland High School teachers pulled a large sign with big, bright blue letters over the welcome sign. Their words read: "Cumberland lowest paid teachers in RI."

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Philip Marcelo