The Battle Wages On

The Ethics Committee convened this week and the hour plus of debate was uncomfortable. Frankly, most of the issues that were brought up in the meeting could have been addressed with a simple phone call to the Director of Schools. At question was the propriety of Commissioner Turner leaving school grounds to attend County government functions without taking personal leave. The complaint was filed by a citizen that had an issue with the Commissioner receiving benefits that are not afforded to other County teachers. During the meeting, the impression was given by Turner’s defense that Jefferson County High School teachers leave school grounds with no check out procedures beyond simply telling the building supervisor. No sign out needed and any old reason will do for leaving school grounds. Need to run to the store-no problem. Gotta pick up laundry-sure, why not.

The reasoning behind the viability of these jaunts was that high school teachers have an extended planning period (more than 1 ½ hours compared to the 30 min that other teachers receive) and have extra activities that they attend and it is true that they have an extended planning period due to block scheduling. The rub is that, if there truly is not procedure for leaving campus and other teachers must take a personal day to run errands, there is a discrepancy in how the Department of Education treats its employees. Truthfully, there is a procedure for leaving campus and planning periods are designed for academic planning, which is a part of the regular school day. Regardless of the impression given in the meeting, teachers are not running off of campus to pick up laundry and there is a sign out procedure, even for Central Office employees (I know this because I have personally seen it). So, after more than an hour in this Ethics Committee Meeting, I must say that both sides had issues that were questionable. Should Commissioner Turner be required to take a personal leave day if all that he requires is an hour or so to do County business? I don’t think so. If his class can be reasonably covered and he doesn’t abuse the privilege then I think that he should be allowed to leave school grounds. We, as a community, should foster a relationship of public service. It is good for our community and good for our students. I also think that the Commissioner should have answered when asked when his planning period is because the question really didn’t matter. During the dates in question, Turner left his classroom in the care of his co teacher for an hour or so. There was question about why Commissioner Turner could not attend a morning Ethics Committee Meeting but could leave school for other functions. Turner stated that he had classroom events planned that could not be adequately covered on the day in question. It is highly reasonable that there were events on that day that required his attention. So, after roughly 500 words in this article, it is easy to see that this meeting was just one more page in the book for this Commission.

The battle wages on and both sides are at fault. Chairman of the Ethics Committee Charlie Tipton got caught in the crossfire of a 2 year war and he handled it well, keeping order when things could have obviously gotten out of control. Director of School Edmonds was forced to wade into the fray and he, also, kept it between the professional navigational poles. It is on his desk that this mess will land and he will also have to field the calls from system teachers and citizens that are unhappy that high school teachers are allowed to leave campus grounds basically at will. Not true, but still, once that cat has climbed the tree it is hard to get her down.