Kentucky teachers prepare for illness to protest the legislature

February 28, 2019, 20:51 GMT

By Associated press

FRANKFORT, Kentucky – At least six school districts in Kentucky were forced to close Thursday, including the two largest state systems, while a wave of teachers had called to protest against this. that one of the leaders had called "half-truths" and "shadow". the state legislature.

The "sick outing" was organized by the KY 120 United group, a reference to the 120 counties of the state, which encouraged Facebook's teachers to call Wednesday sick.

Within hours, the two largest school districts in Jefferson County and Fayette County announced that they would close because they did not have enough teachers to cover their classes. Marion, Carter, Letcher and Boyd counties were also closed Thursday. In Fayette County, officials said at least 40% of teachers were sick.

The protest takes place on the same day legislators of the legislature of a state controlled by Republicans were to discuss Bill 525, a proposal that would change the way individuals are appointed to the board of directors. Kentucky teacher retirement system. But Nema Brewer, one of the group's leaders, said the protest was not aimed at a specific bill.

"It's a series of kicks in the teeth and the dog is now ready to defend himself," said Brewer, who is not a teacher but works for schools Fayette County.

Specifically, Brewer stated that teachers were unhappy that GOP party leaders had suspended a bipartite working group that was examining potential changes to the pension system. They are also concerned about Senate Bill 257. He added non-sexist language to the state pension law, but Brewer said teachers feared that lawmakers would use it as a way to proceed with a more complete overhaul of pensions.

Kentucky's pension systems are among the poorest funded in the country. State officials have at least $ 39 billion less money to pay benefits over the next 30 years.

Legislators have made changes to the supervisory system for state and local government employees. But they were unable to change the Kentucky teacher retirement system. Teachers are well organized and oppose anything they see as a threat to their profession.

Last year, thousands of people demonstrated in front of the State Capitol to protest against a Republican-backed bill that would have the effect of placing all new teachers recruited into a hybrid retirement system . The legislators still passed the bill, but the state Supreme Court invalidated it in December for procedural reasons.

On Thursday, dozens of teachers filled a committee room where legislators were scheduled to discuss the bill in House 525. Karen Schwartz looked at her watch and said she should give a math class. Instead, she was sitting on a hard-back chair with a sign that she had made at 4 am to urge lawmakers to vote against the bill.

"We believe that teachers should have guaranteed representation (within the pension council), which is our pension," she said.

Miss Davis, a fifth-grade teacher at the Farmer Elementary School in Jefferson County, said she knew that the cancellation of the school was a major upheaval for communities because parents who were struggling to find child care and students would miss a day of teaching. But she feared that major changes to the pension system would prevent people from wanting to become teachers.

"Many people think that teachers do this to children, they want to be in school," she said. "We are here because we are passionate about what we do and want to protect the future of education."

Republican lawmakers seemed appalled Thursday as teachers gathered in the committee room. Republican state representative Ken Upchurch, who sponsored the 525 House Bill, said, "It is stunning to see people go on strike so early in the process, and it is even more surprising that the Organization that defends the interests of teachers called it. "

At present, the Kentucky Education Association controls applications from seven of the eleven members of the pension board. The House 525 bill would change that, leaving groups like the Kentucky Retired Teachers Association, the Kentucky School Boards Association and the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents to appoint members.

Upchurch said he was working on an amendment to the bill that would "increase teachers say".

Republican Rep. Jason Nemes told WHAS radio that he was on the phone with teachers from his district Wednesday until after midnight, claiming that they "were scared".

"They have to engage in the process rather than calling for a teachers' strike," said Nemes. "If you call a teachers' strike, please do something on one hand, based on the facts, and on the other hand, of sufficient magnitude. it."