Community Stands with Dismissed Lisbon Band Teacher & Union Leader
On Sunday, April 16, music teacher and Lisbon Education Association President Rick Beaulé received an alert through LinkedIn notifying him that a music teacher position had just opened in Lisbon – his job! After April vacation he received notice from the school principal that his name would not be put forward for a continuing contract. No explanation.
On Monday evening, more that 50 students, parents, teachers and staff wearing red showed up at a Lisbon School Committee meeting to support Beaulé.
“I was very touched at the level of support that I got, both from the community and especially my students. It touched my heart," said Beaulé. "They gave me a giant group hug afterwards and I just sobbed. It took a lot of guts for them to stand up in front of five adults with the superintendent shooting them the death glare to tell their story and support me."
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Parents, students and staff rally in support of Lisbon teachers
Beaulé previously served as a union president in Texas for several years, but when he took the job in Maine in 2021 he had hoped to take a break from union work. He was also under the three-year probationary period when administrations can refuse to renew teacher contracts without giving a reason, so he wanted to keep his head down. However, teachers and union officials say that the Lisbon School Department was so abusive and anti-union that the Lisbon Education Association went through six union president in eight years.
"I didn’t want to do it because I was a probationary teacher but no one was willing to step up because they had been beaten up and abused so much," said Beaulé, who was first appointed and then elected in June, 2022. "I was kind of the reluctant warrior, but I’m also an autistic with a strong sense of social justice and if I say I’m going to do a job, then I’m going to do a job."
Beaulé said that the administration continued to be hostile toward the union and after the fourth round of negotiations, the union declared an impasse. After that, Beaulé said that the administration became even more difficult until he got the Linkedin alert in April. While the superintendent gave no reason for not renewing his contract, it couldn't have been due to his performance. Beaulé scored 2.81 on a four-point scale on his evaluation, which equates to one level below the highest possible rating and is in keeping with prior reviews.
“The results of his evaluation would lead a person to believe that he is qualified for and should be promoted for a continuing contract,” Maine Education Association District 5 Director Rosemary Mahoney told the Lewiston Sun Journal. “We believe that this non-renewal has more to do with his success as a union leader than it does with any deficiency of teaching.”
At the school committee meeting on Monday, several students described Beaulé as a beloved teacher who boosted students’ self-confidence and inspired them to seek out challenges and work toward success. One parent of a ninth-grader with Down Syndrome, said that although music is a big presence in her household, her daughter didn't take an interest in it until Beaulé introduced her to the drums.
The school committee ultimately approved Superintendent Richard Green's list of returning teachers that did not include Beaulé. Only one committee member, Laura Craig, opposed the nomination list. Meanwhile, the MEA has filed a grievance with Lisbon schools on Beaulé’s behalf. The Lisbon Education Association will be also filing a prohibited practice complaint with the Maine Labor Relations Board claiming Beaulé’s dismissal was due to union activity and not due to his performance as a teacher.
"We as educators deserve respect and dignity and this is not that," said Beaulé. "That is why we fight and why we need to stand together because an injury to one is an injury to all and a right that is not defended is a right that’s conceded."
If you live in Lisbon, please tell the Lisbon School Committee to reverse this deeply harmful decision and reinstate Brother Rick Beaulé.