Livingston Parish Public Schools Superintendent Joe Murphy, at podium, speaks during a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, regarding a proposed “day of action” from members of the Livingston Federation of Teachers. Behind Murphy, from left, are Beth Jones, principal of Live Oak High; Laura Dunlap, principal of Seventh Ward Elementary; Eric Fasbender, science teacher at Live Oak High; and Melissa Belgard, ELA teacher at Denham Springs Junior High.
LIVINGSTON -- Despite a group of teachers planning a “day of action” in protest of a school board and administration they claim aren’t responding to their needs, the Livingston Parish Public Schools system will operate as normal on Wednesday.
Superintendent Joe Murphy made the announcement Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the Livingston Federation of Teachers (LFT) announced some members were planning to not report to work if certain demands are not met.
“We recognize every employees’ legal right to take part in this proposed sick out as well as their right to speak out on issues affecting them and this district,” Murphy said. “We respect that right. With that said, our district will always hold fast to our No. 1 priority and that is to educate the children of Livingston Parish every day, including tomorrow.
“We will have school tomorrow throughout our campuses for all our students, for those that are on campus and for those that are still receiving 100 percent virtual instruction. We’re committed tomorrow to having a full day of learning.”
The Livingston Federation of Teachers, which consists of around 350 members, called for the “sick out” day late Monday night following a member vote. According to an LFT representative, as many as 300 teachers were planning to take part in the protest.
When asked if the district has enough substitutes to cover absences among teachers, Murphy said, “We have people who will be at our schools to have school.”
The proposed “day of action” comes during a trying school year amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has heightened tensions among teachers, the Livingston Parish School Board, and the central office administration.
Several teachers, whether through social media or in front of the School Board, have raised a wide range of concerns since school began Aug. 7. Many have said they weren’t properly prepared for a COVID-19 school year, don’t have an adequate amount of cleaning supplies, weren’t allowed input on the district’s reopening plans, and that the hybrid learning model has given them an “overwhelming” workload.
Teachers have voiced these concerns at several meetings of the Livingston Parish School Board, most recently on Sept. 17 when dozens filled the parking lot at the central office and spoke against the “unprofessional” treatment and “lack of communication” they claim to be experiencing this year.
That came after the Sept. 3 meeting, when teachers stormed out of the building after all but two Board members supported a vote that negated a proposed COVID-19 committee to include more teacher and parent input.
In the statement announcing the “day of action,” teachers demanded the administration create a Superintendent’s Advisory Council to be composed of one teacher from each school, elected by the teachers at that school.
This permanent council would meet monthly with the superintendent and the School Board, according to the statement, and will first work to address issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Later, the council will continue to meet to address teacher concerns, school improvement strategies, curriculum decisions, professional development selection, “and anything else that is pertinent to the educational experience of students.”
Murphy discussed the council and other issues during a 45-minute press conference, in which he was joined by two principals and two teachers from all grade levels: Beth Jones, principal of Live Oak High; Laura Dunlap, principal of Seventh Ward Elementary; Eric Fasbender, science teacher at Live Oak High; and Melissa Belgard, ELA teacher at Denham Springs Junior High.
Murphy and others said the current school year has been “frustrating” for all involved, noting the unique predicament that school districts in Louisiana and across the nation currently find themselves in.
“We’re gonna trip and we’re gonna fall,” he said. “Name me one organization in the midst of this pandemic that has not done that. The difference is we’re gonna get up and move forward.”
“As we move forward, we will continue to remain transparent and offer support,” Dunlap said. “Most importantly I want to assure you (teachers) that we see you. We understand that this time is difficult for everyone and we’re searching for solutions everyday.”
Regarding the proposed council, Murphy said “we already have a council,” pointing to the Start Strong Committee that was formed over the summer and recently expanded to include 10 teachers, two parents, seven principals, one school board representative, and six central office personnel.
Murphy said he did not select “any” of the people on the council and that they were chosen by their peers “because of their knowledge, their proven performance, and the positivity they bring to the room every time we meet.”
“This is not a perfect process and we don’t pretend that this is a perfect process,” he said. “This is stuff we’ll have to continue to look at. But we do believe the committee structure we have right now is sufficient to handle that and we’ll keep moving forward with those.”
Dunlap said principals have listened to the feedback presented by staff, students and parents, adding that “creative scheduling” was implemented in some schools to give teachers more time during the day to plan and that “additional resources” have been provided to help teachers with instruction.
“We value all stakeholders and encourage open dialogue,” she said.
Another frustration being voiced by teachers is the virtual instruction, which Murphy admitted “has been extremely difficult for everybody” — parents, teachers, students, and administrators. He said district leaders “are working everyday” to address persisting issues related to distance learning, particularly student access and connectivity.
Belgard said her school started training staff for a hybrid environment early in the spring and into the summer, “offering things for teachers to be a part of and make sure that we were preparing as well as we could for what would be coming in the fall, not knowing really what all of those details would be.”
As a teacher who leads others in training, Belgard said there were some teachers who felt prepared for the school year, and some that did not. But she noted that opportunities for staff to be trained in areas of need “were certainly provided,” and she didn’t agree with the idea of not coming to teach.
“The idea of me, as a teacher, walking out on the students that are showing up each day, whether it’s through a screen or its face to face, is troubling because we need to be walking into our classrooms and putting our best feet forward even though those steps might be uncertain,” she said.
Fasbender, last year’s High School Teacher of the Year, echoed Belgard’s remarks and said “the district did an adequate job of giving us the information as best as they could, and I felt the information was adequate.”
He also mentioned upcoming training sessions that will be offered to teachers in early October and invited all to take part.
“They’ll be developing on teacher skills that are meant to be integrating learning in the hybrid and virtual environment,” he said of the sessions. “These can be skills that not only are used for the in-seat lesson, but also integrating the virtual students.
“I’m very hopeful that what is coming tomorrow will be better than today because of the growth that we’ve shown over the last couple of months.”
The number of all-virtual students shrank from 2,977 to 1,868 of the district’s 26,000 enrollment with the move to Phase Three, which allows all Livingston Parish students to receive traditional instruction.
However, Murphy said virtual learning is “the new normal” and that the entire school system must adapt.
“Virtual learning is a reality that is never gonna go away because it does give some children opportunities they’ve never had before,” he said. “It is our new normal and it is [an option] we will continue to offer here in Livingston Parish.”
Murphy also addressed two other issues he said were raised by LFT members: pay raises and rising insurance rates.
According to Murphy, the district was informed over the summer that there would be five-percent increases to state group benefits in each of the next two years (10-percent total) due to higher premiums that must be paid by the district.
He pointed out that healthcare is the “second-most expensive ticket” for the district, behind only salaries, and that the district’s finance managers and business officers are working with company representatives “to come up with cost effective plans for our employees.”
Murphy said employees will be given options to consider, “but unless something different happens between now and the end of the year, those increases are a reality we must deal with.”
“Without additional funding to serve these costs, we have no option but to pass those higher costs onto our insured parties,” he said. “It’s not that we’re happy about that… but that is the bottom line.”
In terms of a pay raise, Murphy said the administration and School Board have been vocal supporters of higher wages for teachers and staff when they’ve been debated at the state level in recent years.
But without approval from state legislatures, he said a district-wide salary increase would “absolutely result in us going to the people of Livingston Parish to pass a new tax to pay for it.”
“Those are the facts and unfortunately that is the reality,” he said. “I honestly don’t believe in this environment, with wages lost and businesses closing due to the COVID pandemic, that it is now time to ask our people of Livingston Parish to pay higher taxes.”
