Certain Metro Nashville Public School employees have come forward with a petition to say that COVID-19 safety precautions and staffing shortages have burdened them and created more difficult working conditions.
Those teachers belong to a group called the Metro Nashville Education Association (MNEA).
On their Facebook page, MNEA officials complained of inconsistent contact tracing, bus drivers making double and triple routes without additional pay, and support staff covering classes for $2 an hour.
“Educators, support staff, and bus drivers deserve better,” members of the group said on their Facebook page.
“Our students deserve better.”
The MNEA’s petition, meanwhile, said the following:
• The district currently has hundreds of unfilled positions — bus drivers, support staff, and certificated employees
• The substitute teacher pool is meager, leaving jobs open
• Bus driver workforce is significantly diminished, and drivers are having to run multiple routes
• Staffing vacancies compromise the ability to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols
• There is inconsistency in contact tracing across the district
• Classes are split, adding to the number of students in a classroom
• Not all materials required for lesson implementation are provided, resulting in teachers having to pay out of their own pockets for materials
• Teachers are spending upwards of 30 hours a week outside of school hours and are still unable to keep up with the demands
• If students are split, they are not receiving the same attention they would if there was a designated substitute.
• If support staff are pulled away from their assigned duties then their students are not receiving necessary services
• Teachers, support staff, and bus drivers are pushed to the brink, and the demands placed on them are unsustainable
The MNEA, according to its website, is the only public-school organization run by public school educators for public school educators. The group’s leadership, the website went on to say, is composed of elected MNPS educators. The MNEA has three action committees: advocacy, professional practices, and social justice.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Metro Nashville School COVID Safety” by Metro Nashville Public Schools.
