Teachers Picket Standing near the post office on Main Street in Wiscasset, teachers held signs to bring attention to their plight of working without a contract. (Photo Paula Gibbs)

Wiscasset teachers, working without a contract now for a little over two years, picketed the town office Monday night, then moved down to the post office when asked by police to leave.

Lieutenant John Allen said walking up and down Route 1 in front of the town office at night was a safety issue.

The teachers moved further down into the village on Route 1, and then went up to Wiscasset High School where they lined the corridor to the meeting room.

Sixth grade teacher Sharon Marchi was the first to speak during the public comment section of the meeting. The report issued by the three-member fact finding panel was "very clear," she said, referring to the majority opinion that agreed with the teachers.

"This has been totally ignored," she said. "What the school board is considering is a net loss to us - it's an insult." Noting that Wiscasset's per pupil expenditure is higher than the state average, she said putting that on the teachers is just an attempt to make them the scapegoats.

"It's not the teachers' salaries that are causing that," she said. Compared to teachers' salaries in neighboring towns, Wiscasset is in the middle, she said.

Marchi said is she did only what is required in the expired contract, which governs until a new contract is reached, she would not have time to do her job. She said she usually works until 4:30 or 5 p.m., because "in the allotted amount of time provided in the contract, there's no way I could do my job." Marchi talked about the many activities she's involved in other than teaching, such as helping students with peer pressure problems and talking to parents.

First grade teacher Sandra Pye asked how much the school board has spent on lawyers during the negotiations. Superintendent of Schools Jay McIntire said it's about $37,000, but that includes matters other than negotiations. Teacher Chris Riser asked if the bills from the law firm of Woodsum Drummond are itemized. McIntire said they are, and are available to the public.

Teacher Ralph Keyes held up a newspaper Letter to the Editor, written by the school board, which said the teachers had broken off negotiations.

"We're ready to go back to the table - we always have been," he said. We're ready to get together as soon as you are."

Former selectman Judy Flanagan said she wishes the Board of Education "would act as cheerleaders for the teachers." She asked if the two sides could meet without their lawyers to see if some progress can be made. There was no response.

The School Board's student representative, Ashley Ferucci, was visibly moved as she described how much the teachers gathered in the room had affected her life.

"It's really exciting to see all of the people who have shaped my life sitting in front of me," she said. "You have made me the person I am, and I want them to be here for other people."

Teacher Deb Taylor read from a prepared statement, saying she was "honored that her colleagues trusted me with this task."

"I am a graduate of Wiscasset High School, a parent of a second grader at the primary school and a parent of a recent graduate from the high school, and a taxpaying citizen, as well as a teacher. I chose to raise my family in Wiscasset and to teach in this school system because I love this town and have personally benefited from its commitment to quality education.

"I graduated during the Maine Yankee era when we wondered how to spend the money, not where it would come from. I understand full well that those times are gone. I have watched my taxes rise to six times what they once were. The issue now is whether we really believe what we said back then.

"Does this town value education? Does it value its children and their future? It's easy talk when someone else is footing the bill. Now is the time to be the leaders we hoped you would be when we voted for you. Be leaders and act to uphold this community's commitment to value education.

"I am blessed to hold what I believe is the best job there is. I have worked as a house painter, a social worker, and a lawyer, and at no time have I ever felt as rewarded as I have in the classroom working with this community's children. I believe in them passionately and believe that a good education is what will allow them to become the best citizens they can be.

"I know my colleagues feel the same way. I have watched them agonize over how to do what's best for Wiscasset's children: the ones looking for Advance Placement classes and admission to Ivy League schools, the ones struggling with homelessness and drug and alcohol abuse, and the many in between who so desperately need support to discover who they are and how they can become productive citizens in their own right. It is an honor and a privilege working with the caliber of people that I work with and with the amazing children I work for.

"Your failure to recognize the value of the teachers in this community and the importance of education for our children breaks my heart. We elected you to lead this community's educational system and, in so doing entrusted you with the values that we so readily espoused in more profitable times. Now is the time that we need you to be true leaders and insist that we continue to uphold these values. Walk through any one of our town's schools and you will hear the teachers remind students not to succumb to peer pressure, to do the right thing, and that true character is doing the right thing even when it's difficult to do. I ask nothing less of you, our educational leaders."