A full parking lot and a sea of blue T-shirts were the first clues that Tuesday night’s Revere school board meeting would be anything but typical. The crowd had to wait as the meeting was delayed until a third board member arrived so there would be a quorum.And when the section of the agenda dealing with board members’ reports was reached, the nearly 100 blue-shirted staff members in attendance rose and walked from the room.The acrimony between the board and union over a labor contract comes at the same time the district has learned that it achieved a state ranking of “Excellent” for the 12th year in a row.The Revere Education Association contends that “the ties of trust, integrity and ethics that created a positive relationship in previous years between the REA and the Board of Education … the ties that have created a world-class education environment in Revere … have been severed by the recent actions of the Board.”The board counters that “None of us want to be in this situation,” said board member Mario Bonacci. “The teachers are the backbone of this district. We have always supported the teachers and will continue to do so.”At issue is which contract is in effect between the union and the board. Following negotiations, the two sides reached consensus earlier this year on a three-year collective bargaining agreement that reportedly included, among other items, a pay freeze on salaries and STEP increases — the latter of which can be waived for a predetermined time frame if both parties agree — as well as a larger contribution by employees to the medical/health benefits package. However, the board asked the union to rescind its approval of the agreement in April, when projections of significant revenue losses for the district made it impossible for the board to adequately fund the agreement for the duration of the contract.According to union representatives, the union rescinded its approval of the proposed contract on April 18 during an executive committee meeting, notifying Superintendent Randy Boroff of the move.The action, according to union spokesperson Kory Rorabaugh, kept the final year of the current contract, which expires July 31, 2012, in place.In May, Revere voters approved a 10-year, 4.85-mill emergency operating levy which will raise $4.76 million annually – significantly changing the financial outlook of the district.Following levy approval, both parties continued to meet in contract talks, until those discussions broke off, said Rorabaugh.In a work session July 12, the school board implemented the three-year agreement it had previously asked the union to rescind. The board contends there was no documentation verifying the union rescinded the proposed contract. “We met with them. We asked if they did what they needed to do,” said Bonacci. “We asked them to please provide documentation.”When that documentation was not forthcoming, the board was bound by state law to accept the agreement, according to district officials. “Something didn’t happen that needed to happen,” Boroff said. “We were bound by law, per advice of our legal counsel.” “When the three-year contract was agreed to and ratified by the REA, it became law [after 30 days and after no action on the part of the board],” insists Bonacci. “We had a contract after 30 days whether we wanted it or not. Legally, there is a contract in place for three years. Why do they want to change it now? This is what they agreed to in the first place.”The union contends that the current contract is the one that was extended and in effect through July of next year. With that contract, union members would receive a 1.6 percent base salary increase, while health care contributions would remain at about 5 percent of the premium costs.“The board chose to unilaterally implement a new contract after breaking off discussions with REA, knowing a current contract was in place for one more year,” said Rorabaugh. “We were asked to do something and we did it. All of a sudden, it’s July and we are operating under a contract we rescinded. This is about how the board has acted in the last few months, not necessarily about the actual terms of any potential agreement.” The union says it now has two options.“That the board recognizes the remaining contract that we have in place through 2012 or that we are able to meet and discuss other options that we feel are appropriate,” said Rorabaugh. “Right now, it is in the board’s hands to deal with this in an appropriate manner.”Revere Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer David Forrest hopes for a way around this impasse.“I would like to see a concerted effort by both parties to keep communications open in order to work through the differences we are facing, even though this may be a very difficult task,” said Forrest. “If a wall grows between us and the collaboration we have enjoyed for 10 years falls by the wayside, our ability to grow and continue to do great things for our students will be damaged.”