Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis is continuing to push Jefferson County Public Schools to send him a list of teachers who called out during the recent sick-outs. JCPS students missed six days in a two-week period due to a high number of teacher absences.
Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio first asked for a five-day extension to present the information, but after a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the school board passed a resolution asking Lewis to withdraw his request.
The board feared releasing the names could have a negative effect on teacher morale and would discourage people from exercising their first amendment rights.
"When they feel like the request for names is the next step in that, it makes them more fearful and less trustful and I think it contributes to the environment that's caused them to feel like they have to advocate for themselves in person like never before," said JCTA President, Brent McKim.
Board of Education Chair Diane Porter also said she was concerned about how teachers might be punished.
"The question was what kind of discipline would happen and there was not a definitive answer," she explained. "The bottom line is what can we do to support education in Jefferson County, what can we do to support our teachers."
Lewis responded quickly that he would not withdraw his request. He assured them that the teachers would not be punished as long as the work-stoppages did not continue. He explained that the names were needed to make sure school districts “have policies in place to protect school days and students instructional time.” See his full statement below.
“I maintain the request for names but I will definitively state that no disciplinary action will be taken against teachers if there are no further work stoppages. The agreement between JCPS and JCTA proved to not be enough to keep schools open and Jefferson County students missed six days in two weeks. We are requesting this information so that we can have assurance that districts have policies in place to protect school days and students instructional time. In the coming days I’ll be reviewing the submissions from districts to determine if all have sound policies in place and to determine whether next steps are needed. The bottom line is kids need to be in school.”
"There's nothing we can do about the fact that if by law they have to give them, I think what he does with them then would depend on how the board responds after that," said JCPS parent, Cindy Cushman.
She stood behind the board's appeal to keep the names private despite her kids missing school six days in two weeks due to it being canceled.
"Yes it's frustrating but I don't blame the teachers," she said. " Absolutely I wanted my kids in school and I have a daughter who's a senior who's very frustrated her graduation date is getting pushed back. But I don't think this is this is the teachers' fault."
Following Lewis' response, Brent McKim with JCTA had this to say:
"We are disappointed that the commissioner is not withdrawing his request for teacher names and that his response certainly appears to implicitly threaten discipline if there is another school closure. That has the potential to escalate the situation, depending on how each individual educator responds to the commissioner.
JCTA strongly supports the first amendment rights of teachers to advocate for their students in Frankfort.
As most of the community knows, JCTA has not called for any of the job actions we have seen and we will continue to work with the school district to offer viable options for teachers to have a strong presence in Frankfort while keeping our JCPS schools open."
Without withdrawing his request, JCPS is required by law to turn in the names. The extension was approved by the state and those names are due by March 25.