OCSD trustees concerned about teacher treatment

Trustees said they learned of the issue from some employees in the district.

“We do have some people in this district who are probably not happy the way things are going and the morale is rather low,” trustee Dr. William O’Quinn said. “To retain our teachers, we need to do everything we can do to make this a good place for them to work.”

“We need to be sure their leaders and administrators are talking to them in the correct way,” O’Quinn said.

He said some employees are afraid to go to the district’s human resources department to talk about the matter.

“They are afraid if they make any kind of waves that it will come back to them,” he said. “I think we need to do everything we can to retain the teachers that we’ve got – not just the first-year teachers, but all those who have been here 10, 15, 20 and even 30 years.”

Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Ernest Holiday encouraged any employee who has a problem with how they have been treated to reach out to the human resources department, noting the district does have a retaliation policy that will protect any such complaints.

The matter arose as the district is beginning the process of sending out letters of intent to employees in order to identify whether they plan to remain with the district, resign, retire or transfer next school year.

Employees will have until Nov. 30 to respond in order for the district to be able to secure and hire replacements early for individuals not planning to stay with the district.

Board Vice Chair Dr. Debora Brunson said she also has heard from employees, and especially teachers, complaining about the way they are being treated.

“I really have some grave concerns about that,” Brunson said. “No one should be getting up in the morning and going to work feeling uncomfortable. Even though they are professional teachers, I equate it to children going to school being bullied.”

Brunson said she would like the district to implement an initiative where teachers are supported by peers and ideas are shared.

“If teachers are not supported and they feel like they are not getting that support in their buildings, they are going to leave the district,” Brunson said. “If we have principals who are not being fair to their staff members, then we need to deal with that.”

“You can catch more flies with sugar than you can with vinegar,” Brunson said.

Trustee Idella Carson said there’s a need for mentor programs for teachers.

“It has been in the news about teachers’ burnout and they are not getting the help from the staff, district level,” Carson said. “Principals – they are not talking to our teachers in a way that they are professionals. They are not only being physically burned out, but they are being mentally burned out also.”

Carson said, “We need to know how to talk to professionals.”

“When they call the district office, they are put on hold. They can’t reach anyone to talk to,” Carson said. “We need to put a stop to this today.”

Holiday said teachers do receive ongoing support through professional development. He said the department has an open-door policy and wants open dialogue with both new and veteran teachers.

Trustee Mary Ulmer said she has been told by employees that when there is an employee issue, nothing is done.

“It is a problem within the district,” she said.

Dr. Sylvia Bruce-Stephens said, “What we are doing is we are allowing people to run good people from a job.”

“We’ve got to stop that,” Bruce-Stephens said. “You have a dynamic teacher and they are so scared they are crying when they get home. We’ve got to stop this.”