ANGOLA â The Metropolitan School District of Steuben County committed an unfair labor practice by interfering with the collective bargaining rights of Angolaâs public schools teachers union, a state board has ruled.
The Indiana Education Employment Relations Board has ordered the district to cease and desist from interfering with or coercing employees who are freely exercising their right to participate in collective bargaining, said a recommended order handed down Tuesday.
The IEERBâs initial ruling comes after a Dec. 9, 2020, evidentiary hearing, held by videoconference, where testimony was heard from MSD administrators and union leaders regarding the alleged wrongdoing.
In July 2019, leaders of the Angola Classroom Teachers Association took the rare step of filing two unfair labor practice charges against the district for what the union said amounted to interference and coercion by the districtâs refusal to engage in good faith collective bargaining with the
BUTLER — With one day until retirement, Jeffrey Stephens is wrapping up his career as the longevity champion of northeast Indiana school superintendents.
ANGOLA â A lawsuit was filed late Wednesday against the Metropolitan School District of Steuben County board over an alleged Indiana Open Door violation thatâs related to ongoing turmoil between it and Superintendent Brent Wilson.
The suit follows Wilsonâs attorneys having first filed a public access complaint, alleging the board held an illegal executive session in January. Public Access Counselor Luke Britt on Thursday said a decision in the Feb. 8 complaint has not been rendered.
The lawsuit asks the Steuben Circuit Court to enjoin the board from continuing to violate the Indiana Open Door Law, something the lawsuit alleges is a continuing problem of the MSD board. The suit also seeks to void any action taken by the board in an illegal session.
ANGOLA â A Hillsdale, Michigan, native has joined the staff at The Herald Republican, a KPC Media Group newspaper.
Sam Fry, 24, graduated from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, in 2019 with a political science major and honors from Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society.
After a freelancing stint during college, Fry took a news reporter position at the Hillsdale Daily News, in Hillsdale, Michigan, his hometown newspaper. During his two years at the Gannett Co.-owned daily, he covered local government, education, community news and sports.
In February 2020, he was named sports editor of the Hillsdale Daily News. Following cutbacks, and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fry joined KPC Media in December 2020 to continue his professional career in journalism at a community focused publication.