The association representing Harford County's teachers has filed a grievance against the school system, contending that a decision by Superintendent Robert Tomback's office to disable the union chief's school e-mail account violates its contract with the schools.

Randy Cerveny, president of the Harford County Education Association, said a Harford County schools official told him Jan. 11 that e-mails Cerveny had sent members through his school account violated terms of a contract between the HCEA and the county's Board of Education.

Cerveny used the account several times this month to notify association members of details in Tomback's proposed budget for fiscal year 2011, which calls for a 2 percent cut in total salaries for all public school employees.

Tomback first presented the budget plan at a public meeting in December. He did not mention the 2 percent cuts at the time, either in the written summary accompanying the 500-page document or in the remarks he made that night.

Cerveny's e-mails stressed the proposed cuts and urged members to attend public hearings on the matter.

"It is imperative that we have a strong showing at [the Monday, Jan. 11] hearing," Cerveny wrote in a Jan. 5 e-mail. "Please plan to attend."

More than 150 teachers attended the Jan. 11 meeting at the school system's headquarters in Bel Air, creating an overflow crowd that spilled from the board's chambers into a hallway.

Jeff Fradel, director of staff relations for the schools, told Cerveny on Jan. 11 "not to send any additional e-mails to the membership that had not been reviewed and approved by an agent of the Superintendent for appropriate content," Cerveny wrote in a memo to his members.

The next day, Cerveny could not sign onto the e-mail account, then learned it had been disabled when he called the school system's help desk. Since then, he has sent association-related materials from a personal account and to members' personal addresses.

Joe Licata, chief of administration for Harford County schools, said the school system can't comment on the particulars of grievances under review but said the school district was upholding its side of the contract.

"It is the Board of Education's position that we adhere to and uphold all provisions of our collective bargaining agreements," he said in a statement.

According to the contract in question, "The Association may utilize the inter-school courier service and the Harford County Public Schools' e-mail system for the distribution of its newsletter and for membership material. Other materials which have been approved by the Superintendent may also be distributed."

The dispute became public after a regularly scheduled association meeting last week, when Cerveny told members about the e-mail termination and distributed the memo describing the timeline of events.

One member, Margaret Fulkrod, chair of the math department at Patterson Mills High School, said she was stunned by the development.

"The HCEA president has always sent out reminders," said Fulkrod, who has worked in the school system for 11 years. "I never felt [Cerveny's messages] were out of line."

The association filed the grievance Jan. 20, about a week after Tomback, in his first year as Harford County superintendent, told Cerveny he would review the decision and be in touch, Cerveny said. Cerveny said he never heard back from Tomback.

Attorneys for the Maryland State Education Association have said Cerveny's e-mails did not violate the contract.