NEWS

School modernization project dispute leads to war of words

Meaghan M. McDermott
@meagmc
About $40 million is needed to renovate Monroe High School.

A decision by the board overseeing Rochester's $1.3 billion schools modernization project to scuttle an agreement to work with local labor unions continues to reveal fractures among City Council, the City School District Board of Education and the Warren administration.

On Wednesday, City Councilwoman Molly Clifford and three of her colleagues called out Mayor Lovely Warren for refusing to make members of the Rochester Joint Schools Construction Board available to explain why they'd voted to kill the project labor agreement that spelled out requirements for union hiring, set goals for putting minority and women-owned firms to work and established wage and other rules for the construction project.

►MORE: Watchdog report on school modernization project

The move, coming just weeks after City Council approved $32 million to support Phase II of the modernization project — with an understanding the project labor agreement (PLA) would be in place — was especially troubling, Clifford said.

"We are concerned that this decision may lead to slowdowns in the project, costing taxpayers more money and keeping students out of their home schools longer than necessary," Clifford said in her essay for the Democrat and Chronicle.

"We want to know what the dangers are of not having a PLA, we'd like to hear from some of the unions and contractors about the minority workforce goals, we want to know if there will be slowdowns in work, or increases in costs or if we will be keeping students out of their schools," said Clifford. "It's disheartening we can't even have a conversation about it."

►Labor deal shot down for school modernization project

Meanwhile, Councilman Adam McFadden on Wednesday fired back with his own essay accusing his colleagues of continuing  a political "vendetta" against the mayor that's unrelated to the modernization project and dates back to her successful 2013 election bid against former Mayor Thomas Richards.

"I urge (Clifford) and others to focus on the many challenges we have," said McFadden. "We have a lot of work to do on behalf of our citizens and overstepping our authority is wrong and we all should be ashamed by the fact that they are using our children as a political smoke screen."

In a written statement, Warren spokesman James Smith said the construction board was established to be independent and keep politics out of school modernization. And, he noted, the city corporation counsel has already provided council members with a legal opinion concluding that state law does not grant them any oversight of the construction board.

"The advice of their own legal counsel does not support holding hearings on this matter," he said.

Nonetheless, Clifford said an ad hoc committee of City Council members and members of the City School District Board of Education will meet with any willing modernization board members on Monday to talk about the decision.

Van White, president of the Rochester school board, said he and other members of his body are deeply concerned that losing the labor agreement could lead to cost overruns and construction delays that would ultimately harm students. He has asked the modernization board to reconsider and welcomes Monday's meeting.

"I just don't understand where the benefit is in getting rid of the agreement," he said. "I'm hoping for a greater explanation and to hear what their plan is to resolve controversies in the absence of an agreement."

The construction board comprises three members appointed by the mayor, three appointed by the superintendent of the Rochester City School District and one joint appointment. Mayoral appointees are city Director of Special Projects Allen Williams, City Treasurer Charles Benincasa and City Project Manager Wayne Williams. Superintendent appointees are district Chief Operating Officer Mike Schmidt, retired Laborers Union leader Bob Brown and former Mayor Thomas Richards. The joint appointment is Ineabelle G. Cruz, president of Survivors Advocating for Effective Reform and Rochester Housing Charities. Benincasa, Allen Williams, Wayne Williams and Cruz were the deciding votes regarding the labor agreement.

►RCSD board calls for labor agreement negotiations

Mike Schmidt, vice chairman of the modernization board, said district Superintendent Barbara Deane-Williams supports the school board's position on the labor agreement.

Still, modernization board Chairman Allen Williams said the agreement was killed because of the lackluster results of the union-run apprenticeship program set up during Phase I of the three-phase modernization plan. While the initiative was supposed to help train women and minority apprentices and put them to work, only five trained apprentices ended up working on related projects.

"The unions didn't live up to their agreements, and this was over a five-year period," he said. "They certainly had time to make good on their obligation."

Also, he said, board members have felt they were stonewalled when asking additional questions about the success of the program and have not yet been given any satisfactory answers as to how $1.1 million was spent on the apprenticeship program.

"We've even sent a letter to the state Attorney General's Office and comptroller asking if they would look into this," said Williams.

Williams became chairman last week, after the modernization board voted by the same 4 to 3 split as in the project labor agreement vote to oust Tom Richards from the leadership slot. Richards has declined to comment on his ouster, but Schmidt said Deane-Williams appreciates his contributions and hopes Richards will continue to serve on the board

►Thomas Richards out as schools modernization board chief

Williams dismissed concerns that not having a labor agreement would lead to delays or cost increases. He said the board is still requiring contractors to meet significant goals for women and minority hiring.

"It is not the prerogative of the school board or City Council to have the Joint Schools Construction Board report to any of them," he said, emphasizing the board's independence. "If they have a question about what we are doing, they can ask the mayor and the same goes for the school board, if they have questions, they may ask the superintendent to ask her representatives on the board."

MCDERMOT@Gannett.com