News Blog

Updated at 12:21 p.m.

Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association, says that teachers do not share ASAR's discontent. Teachers are unhappy, but it has to do with wrong-headed policies coming out of the State Education Department, he said.  And teachers do not blame Vargas for those policies, Urbanski said. 

Urbanski said he is disappointed by ASAR's consideration of a no-confidence vote. 

The Association of Supervisors and Administrators of Rochester will discuss a vote of no confidence against Rochester schools Superintendent Bolgen Vargas this afternoon. 

ASAR members says that there is a lack of a consistent plan for how administrators can help improve student performance, says ASAR President Deborah Rider, and poor communication between administrators and the superintendent. 

"As administrators, we're not always treated with respect and our voices are not always heard," Rider says. One of ASAR's concerns is the lack of tenure being awarded to many administrators, she says. 

"Let's be specific about why someone isn't being awarded tenure," Rider says.

Rider says that ASAR members are acutely aware of the need to improve student performance, and the pressures that come with that responsibility. Administrators are struggling to meet those expectations, she says. 

The possibility of a vote of no confidence has been discussed for a while, Rider says.

"This is a huge, huge step for us to even entertain this conversation," she says. "We want to be respectful to the board and the superintendent." 

Reached by phone, Chip Partner, a spokesperson for the district, said he had no knowledge of ASAR's plans, but questioned whether it had something to do with upcoming contract negotiations. 

ASAR is a bargaining unit that consists of nearly 400 principals, assistant principals, and administrators in the city school district.