Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In Texas, teachers who strike lose their jobs and their teaching certificates.
Are you saying we should all fall in line with Texas?
"Texas landed at No. 40 on a new ranking of U.S. states based on their education levels. Researchers with online finance site WalletHub compared all 50 states across 18 metrics, including educational attainment, school quality and achievement gaps between genders and races. The Lone Star State is a bit of an outlier in the rankings. Texans' average level of education attainment is abysmal, putting the state second to last when it comes to the share of the population over 25 with a high-school diploma."
"using your official position"...what does that even mean to you?
It's pretty obvious and well defined for those who have to follow that law already. But, in simple terms, things like:
a. The teacher sends home a note to parents about a school board election or a ballot issue recommending the parents vote for a particular candidate or a certain way on the issue.
b. Jane, a current teacher, runs for school board in the school district she works for.
c. You give an interview to the local news and say "My name is Phetaroi and I'm principal of Partisan Middle School. Parents need to vote Jane for school board."
Things that aren't:
a. A teacher, on their own time, volunteers to mail out flyers for a candidate.
b. You, on your own time, without mention of your job, say to your neighbors "I'm Phetaroi, your neighbor, and I'm supporting Jane for school board."
Things in a grey area:
a. John, spouse of current teacher Jane, runs for school board in the district his spouse works for.
When in doubt, get a formal approval from the ethics official. That's not unusual for those subject to the Hatch Act today. I had to get approval to run for HOA board (a non-political, non-government entity) as well as before accepting an appointed volunteer position to a couple of community boards for STEM education.
Great idea. Then instead of striking for long over due pay raises, perpetually underpaid teachers have only one option: QUIT. And that’s what a lot of them are doing.
It's pretty obvious and well defined for those who have to follow that law already. But, in simple terms, things like:
a. The teacher sends home a note to parents about a school board election or a ballot issue recommending the parents vote for a particular candidate or a certain way on the issue.
b. Jane, a current teacher, runs for school board in the school district she works for.
c. You give an interview to the local news and say "My name is Phetaroi and I'm principal of Partisan Middle School. Parents need to vote Jane for school board."
Things that aren't:
a. A teacher, on their own time, volunteers to mail out flyers for a candidate.
b. You, on your own time, without mention of your job, say to your neighbors "I'm Phetaroi, your neighbor, and I'm supporting Jane for school board."
Things in a grey area:
a. John, spouse of current teacher Jane, runs for school board in the district his spouse works for.
When in doubt, get a formal approval from the ethics official. That's not unusual for those subject to the Hatch Act today. I had to get approval to run for HOA board (a non-political, non-government entity) as well as before accepting an appointed volunteer position to a couple of community boards for STEM education.
Not difficult at all to follow.
Then you and I are pretty much in agreement on this, except maybe the bolded. That one gets a little tougher. If I set up that interview with that intent...that's one thing. If I happen to be at the mall and a reporter is questioning various people at the mall about the election or a bond issue (etc.)...hmmmm. Let's put it this way. Personally, I wouldn't grant the interview. On the other hand, I would expect a superintendent to grant interviews about policies, or strikes, but not on election of school board members. I also would expect a superintendent to grant interviews about school bond issues. I think it gets a little complicated.
Then you and I are pretty much in agreement on this, except maybe the bolded. That one gets a little tougher. If I set up that interview with that intent...that's one thing. If I happen to be at the mall and a reporter is questioning various people at the mall about the election or a bond issue (etc.)...hmmmm. Let's put it this way. Personally, I wouldn't grant the interview. On the other hand, I would expect a superintendent to grant interviews about policies, or strikes, but not on election of school board members. I also would expect a superintendent to grant interviews about school bond issues. I think it gets a little complicated.
I'm glad we agree. I'd certainly expect a school official such as the superintendent to be interviewed about issues of interest to the community. When I was interviewed, we always established ground rules on topics where I was not allowed to discuss and there was always a public affairs representative there to ensure we didn't stray into those topics. I would expect a superintendent to discuss facts and generic statements about the importance of free and open elections, but to steer away from endorsing a specific position, party, or person.
Right. In my time there I wasn't very impressed with the union.
And when I moved to Virginia -- a right to work state -- we didn't have a union, per se.
You may remember that's where I am. I don't support striking, but I do support collective bargaining agreements. Some districts now have them in place. We (your former district) are getting closer.
For the record, I don't support striking but I do support collective bargaining.
Texas doesn't allow collective bargaining for government employees except police and firefighters. For teachers it's "here's your salary, take it or leave it".
It seems to me there's a difference between an individual employee and a union. But of course, not surprised that some want to muzzle teachers and the freedom of speech of educators. Serve us, but shut up...that's the thinking.
If there is a difference between an individual employee and the union, who voted for the strike and would be walking the picket lines?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
