Image Credit: knoxschools.org
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
A school board member in Knox County is pushing a resolution that would give district employees the opportunity to stand up to their administrators without worrying about possible repercussions.
The proposed policy comes from board member Jennifer Owen.
“It’s not in response to any specific incident,” said Owen.
Instead, she says it is in response to an issue that she believes has been rampant in the school system.
“It’s something I’ve seen for as long as I’ve been around Knox County Schools,” Owen said. “People perceive that if they say what they think that there will be retaliation.”
Owen noted that there are already some protections in place for teachers, but she believes the design of the new proposal would remind staff members that they have the right to speak up, and that the board members support their right to do so.
Her hope is that this will also lead to greater communication with the board.
“We can’t fix things if we don’t know about them,” she said.
Board members John Butler, Susan Horn, and Daniel Watson spoke up as well, stating that they have heard from a number of staff members that there is a fear of backlash against them if they were to voice their concerns.
The full board will vote on the resolution on October 4.
