Tag Archives: collaborative

SCORE Hires AP News Editor, Copper Hill Principal

Leave a reply

News release from SCORE:
(Nashville) – The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) announced today that Dr. Jared Bigham will join the organization as Director of College and Career Readiness and Teresa Wasson will join the organization as Deputy Director of Communications. Bigham and Wasson will enhance the organization’s college and career-readiness work, communicating about and advocating for Tennessee’s efforts to ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared for postsecondary education and the workforce.
“Jared and Teresa are leaders in the field of education and journalism respectively,” said Jamie Woodson, President and CEO of SCORE. “Jared is recognized as one of Tennessee rising stars in public education, and his experience as a teacher, school leader, and advocate will significantly advance SCORE’s efforts to engage and inform citizens about our state’s work to raise academic expectations for students. Teresa is one of Tennessee’s most respected journalists. Her vast experience as a writer, journalist, and editor will benefit not only SCORE and the entire education reform community, but most importantly, students throughout our great state.”

Continue reading →

Dickson Teachers’ Lawsuit Contends Anti-Collective Bargaining Law Violates State Constitution

Leave a reply

The Dickson County Education Association – the local teachers’ union – is suing the Dickson County Board of Education over a recent negotiation dispute, reports The Tennessean. The lawsuit, filed in Dickson County Chancery Court, also claims that a new anti-union law is unconstitutional.
According to DCEA chief negotiator Patricia Hudson, the two sides were discussing salary and fringe benefits when the school board halted negotiations, citing the state legislature’s passing of the Professional Educators Collaborating Conferencing Act (PECCA) in May.
Under the new law, collective bargaining rights of unions will be replaced by “collaborative conferencing,” when current teacher union contracts expire.
DCEA’s contract with the school board is valid through 2013 and includes a section about re-negotiating certain terms, including salary talks.
On May 26, the school board passed a budget without completing salary negotiations with the union, Hudson said.
The lawsuit claims that the board “revealed its bad faith intent to disregard its contractual obligations” by adopting the budget before negotiations were finished.
…Also, the Board of Education used PECCA as a reason to cease bargaining before the law actually went into effect on June 1, according to Hudson.
….In addition to asking for an injunction ordering the Board of Education to return to “good faith negotiations” and submitting budget amendments to the county commission, the lawsuit also takes aim at PECCA.
The lawsuit asks that “following a trial on the merits, the Court declare PECCA to be unconstitutional in violation of Article I, Section 20…of the Tennessee Constitution.”
Article I, Section 20 of the state constitution states “that no retrospective law, or law impairing the obligations of contracts, shall be made.”