Ever since the Jeffco school board was taken over by a majority of reform-minded members, the teachers’ union has taken what it means to be a sore loser to a whole new level of pathetic.
The union has taken to drumming up controversy over standard operating procedures that have been in place for decades and are proven to work. It freaks out anytime one of the reform board members shows up to work or tries to move a meeting along. God forbid they just let the school board do its job.
Mike Rosen sums up the motivation behind the union’s opposition perfectly in his latest column:
To the union, the stakes are high, indeed. When a conservative reform board was elected in Douglas County and ended its association with the teachers union, an important precedent was set. This was a good thing for those who believe teachers unions are the greatest obstacle to substantive reform in public education.
Not surprisingly, the teachers’ union in Jeffco has taken a page from its counterparts in Dougco. Unfortunately for them, those kinds of “cry wolf” tactics failed.
Let us explain. Dougco has been ground zero for the fight between the teachers’ union and the conservative school board. Despite the union’s best efforts to undermine them with lame PR stunts, the board retained its unanimous conservative majority in the 2013 election.
A better strategy for the teachers’ union in Jeffco would be actually trying to work with the new board. In fact, it’s a shame that not a single reporter has asked union President Ami Prichard why she isn’t trying harder to do just that.
The JCEA president is Ami Prichard (http://jcea.coloradoea.org/about-jcea/who-we-are/president-and-executive-committee).