WOODSTOCK — The future of a science and math lab at Woodstock Union High School and Middle School is uncertain after an arbitrator found earlier this month that the person running the lab must be a school employee, not a contractor.
Since 2017, the school district has contracted with NuVu, a private “innovation school” in Cambridge, Mass., which provides one of its fellows to lead the lab. Originally paid for by grants, the position is now part of the middle/high school’s budget. This year, it costs $160,000.
Last year, after the fellow at the time sought and failed to become a union member, the Windsor Central Education Association — now the Mountain Views Education Association — filed a grievance saying that the position was effectively a teaching position that should be included in the bargaining unit. It also sought to have teachers paid at the same rate as the fellow,…