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Woodson Hearing Continued After Long Session

Jan. 23, 2009 — A hearing on whether to make the temporary restraining order on the teachers at St. Croix's John H. Woodson Junior High School a permanent injunction was continued Friday after more than three hours of testimony because a key witness for the teacher's union was off island.
The temporary restraining order requiring the teachers to obey a school directive extending instruction time at the school was issued Jan. 13, a day after teachers at Woodson refused to begin instructing students 15 minutes earlier than their original schedule, and to continue instruction half an hour later. The Department of Education also decided the school year for students at Woodson would not end until June 26, instead of June 15. The schedule was changed to make up for time lost due to physical problems at the school and the effects of Hurricane Omar.
The government asked the court to make the temporary order permanent, and a hearing was begun Jan. 16 before Superior Court Judge Francis J. D'Eramo, with lawyers for the Department of Education arguing that the teachers' refusal constituted an illegal job action under territorial law. The teachers' attorney countered by saying the state was unilaterally altering the collective bargaining agreement with the teachers.
On Jan. 16, D'Eramo said the hearing would continue until the issue was resolved one way or the other. But after three-and-a-half hours of testimony and sometimes testy exchanges among lawyers and witnesses, attorney Emile Henderson III, representing the St. Croix Federation of Teachers, suddenly asked for another continuance because a key witness for the teachers' case was not available.
Assistant Attorney General Robert Molloy, representing the Department of Education, expressed surprise, noting that the hearing had been scheduled for a week, and demanding who the witness was and why he or she couldn't have made it to court.
Henderson said the witness he needs is Tyrone Molyneux, president of the St. Croix teachers' union. Molyneux is off island, Henderson said, and has been since before the hearing was scheduled.
During his questioning of four government witnesses, Molloy had asked each about comments allegedly made by Molyneux, about attendance by the union official at meetings, and about his attitude.
Under the circumstances, Henderson said, he had to call Molyneux as a witness.
After much checking of calendars, D'Eramo ordered the hearing held over until 9 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28. Until then, the temporary restraining order remains in effect.
During Friday's hearing, Molloy called as witnesses Jessica Gallivan, the chief negotiator for the government of the Virgin Islands, Education Commissioner LaVerne Terry, Woodson Principal Vaughn Hewitt and St. Croix Superintendent Gary Molloy.
Molloy led each witness through the events, beginning in August 2008 with the opening of the school year, that led to the teachers' refusal Jan. 12 to teach during the extra 45 minutes required to make up for time lost.
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