Liability Issues Stymie Chelsea Takeover

Further action on the proposed Boston University takeover of the troubled Chelsea school district has been stalled by disagreement over liability problems, university and city officials said this week.

The dispute turns on whether the school board or the university would take responsibility for legal action against the Chelsea schools.

Both sides say the so-called "indemnification" question is the last major issue that needs to be ironed out before the Chelsea School Committee can examine a finalized version of the plan. The decade-long arrangement would establish BU as the administrator of the school system, known for its high dropout rates and low test scores. After local approval, the plan would require ratification by the state legislature and the governor.

Peter Greer, dean of BU's School of Education and a major participant in the discussions, said he expects the situation to be resolved soon.

"Both sides have interests to protect--Chelsea doesn't want to put the city into debt and we don't want to open ourselves to suits," Greer said. "They want the project but they also have to protect the city. They've been good negotiations--Chelsea's lawyer doesn't want to just fold without getting all it can for the city."

Greer said that BU is trying to protect itself in three major areas by having the school district provide insurance.

"First, we want to be protected in cases of bodily liability, as in if a child gets hurt in school and a parent decides to sue us. Second, there are errors of omission; for example if someone sues us because their son didn't know how to read. And we're also looking to get defense costs for civil rights issues, as if a woman wasn't hired for a particular job and decides to sue us," he said.

But opponents say that the school district should not accept responsibility for the actions of outside administrators. "The indemnification issue was a big, big bombshell," said Donald Menzies, the president of the Chelsea Teacher's Union. "Here you have a school district that's practically bankrupt and yet it seems willing to take on an open-ended insurance policy to cover even intentional torts and matters of civil rights."

"The school committee is under the impression that the BU plan is the only measure that can work, and they're willing to pay the price to get what they're looking for," said Menzies. "But other alternatives do exist where laws are not altered and rights are not given up."

Elizabeth A. McBride, the newly installed school committee chairperson who has opposed the plan in the past, said that "lawyers are still working on the contract and the indemnification issue is holding us up. Meetings have been called but nothing has been put before us. Right now we're at a standstill."

The controversial plan would set up Boston University as an outside administrator of the school district, making the first time a private entity would take over management of a public school system. But some Chelsea teachers and administrators have questioned the constitutionality of the plan, saying it would diminish voter and teacher rights.

BU's offer of aid was prompted by the poor education record of Chelsea, whose 52 percent dropout rate is the highest in the state.

In a preliminary vote last November, the school committee voted five-to-two in favor of the plan.

Pending the decision, BU officials have already begun working with local schools on selected projects but only with the approval of the school committee. Opponents charge that the projects are an attempt to win support for BU's plan by giving the university the opportunity to point to specific accomplishments.

Massachusetts Education Commissioner Harold Raynolds said the state board has criticized the plan because of BU's request to be exempt from public meetings and open record laws. "If BU wants public money and public power, they have...to do the public's business in public," he said.

But Raynolds added that the way may be clear for approval of the plan. "I am told that the language of the contract concerning the seven issues we've raised about public disclosure have been changed in a way that will probably be satisfactory to us," Raynolds said. "The indemnification issue is holding us up."

Raynolds, along with the Chelsea Teacher's Union, has criticized the city's school committee for "agreeing to give up its fundamental elected rights," by supporting the plan.