JARRETT GOODMAN
Staff Writer
The county Board of Education has recently agreed to sign a petition regarding collaboration with the Marion County Education Association (MCEA).
Teresa Lofty, president of MCEA and Alderman of Kimball, presented the board a petition to have a collaborative relationship established with MCEA. She explained 224 educators from across the county have already signed the petition, leaving the board to approve its final signature.
The goal is to have both parties collaborate through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Under the MOU, a special question committee will be created, consisting of individual board members and employees appointed to set up varying terms and conditions for confidential votes conducted by local teachers. Additionally, the MOU allows both parties to work together on different issues throughout each school, including insurance coverage, workplace environment, and pay.
“The bottom line is that this is something we have always had in place, and we want to continue to get them to do that,” said Lofty.
All board members expressed support for the proposed collaboration with MCEA. Director of Schools Mark Griffith requested that the board should move forward with the petition. He felt by doing so would further support school faculty during a time of uncertainty with the ongoing government shutdown, as well as Tennessee’s Education Freedom Act that added financial cuts to all public schools in the state for supplies and teacher pay. Chairman Ryan Philips also expressed support for the petition, noting the board will always stand by all school staff and students within the county regardless of federal changes or statewide mandates.
“There’s a lot of things that go on in Nashville and Memphis that doesn’t go on in here, and I myself and this board will go to bat for Mrs. Lofty and every teacher in this county,” said Philips.
The board unanimously agreed to Lofty’s petition of collaboration, allowing both the Board of Education and MCEA to collaborate once the proper MOU is established and reviewed