Since it opened in 1957, the Old Town School of Folk Music has survived economic downturns, social upheavals, and disco. But in 2020 it faces perhaps its biggest challenge yet. After years of internal strife that have pitted the faculty against the administration and board—they’ve fought over transparency, unfair pay structures, and management decisions, among other things—the teachers are attempting to secure their first-ever union contract.
One teaching artist, who asked not to be identified, calls the administration’s behavior “bullying” and says that unionization “brought about all this corporate-defense shit into the equation, which is something we never had to deal with before.”
“Negotiations between the administration and the union are ongoing in a thoughtful and respectful manner,” he says. “We have had bumps in the road, but things are going pretty smoothly at the moment.”
Newcomb has no direct arts-management experience on his resumé, but it may not have been necessary—whereas the role of executive director has existed since the school opened its doors, he’s its very first CEO. The distinction, he explains, “was more to make a break from the executive-director role for the interim phase.”
When Newcomb’s position became permanent in 2020, he had to contend with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which forced 90 percent of the school’s classes to go virtual, emptied its profitable concert calendar, and forced it to furlough some staff.
The union says dumping so much revenue into the salaries of a few is wrong. “The public would be shocked to know how low the salaries are for the faculty,” says Hawking. “There are teachers struggling to survive on meager wages while top administrators and an administrative-heavy organization have steady incomes and steady healthcare.” (Teachers can receive health insurance and paid time off through the school, but only if they reach 18 teaching hours per eight-week session.)
