MSEA releases vote of “no confidence” in Mat-Su school board, Superintendent

On Monday, the Mat-Su Education Association (MSEA), the union that represents over 1,200 educators in the Mat-Su Borough, released the results of its vote of ‘no confidence’ in the Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) school board, and Superintendent Dr. Randy Trani.

According to the press release from the MSEA, 93.1% of certificated staff, including teachers, librarians, nurses, counselors, and student support specialists, voted they had no confidence in the many decisions that have been made by the school board are driven by the needs and best interests of all students.

91.3% said they believe the same about the Superintendent.

“The result of this vote reaffirms the frustration educators feel about decisions being made by the school board and Superintendent that are not in the best interest of students and are sometimes neither positive nor safe for some of our students,” said Vicki Hewitt, President of MSEA.

“This is not a union issue. This is an issue for all,” she said.

In total, 1052 of certificated staff members, both union and non-union, participated in the vote of no confidence which was held October 16-20.

Hewitt says there were several reasons the MSEA held the vote, with frustration aimed at both the school board and Dr. Trani.

“This has been broiling for a while. The teachers, the staff, are worried about the slew of changes that have been made recently and the impact they will have on the students,” she said.

Two of the most impactful changes Hewitt says the MSEA is worried about include the recent change to the job description for counselors, in which counselors are now only able to advise students about academics. The only exception is in cases involving abuse.

“If students can’t talk to their counselors that could be dangerous to kids. It is throwing up a barrier to learning.” She says students often have to worry about things outside of the classroom that have an impact on their ability to listen, learn, and understand, and not having a person to talk to can be harmful.

Hewitt says the other major policy change that she and the MSEA worry about is the change to the library policy, in which the school board struck out portion of the policy that had made libraries a safe space, instead limiting school libraries to only academic interests.

She also said that a few policies put out by Dr. Trani have raised concerns, including the AP Seminar for all students, and the recent increase in the number of credits needed to graduate.

“These changes make us worry for all students. Some students will have to start taking classes in middle school in order to reach the number of credits needed to graduate. There is now a feeling that students cannot afford to fail, that there is no place for failure.”

The decision to hold the vote of ‘no confidence’ was not an easy one for Hewitt, who says that she tried to put it off for as long as she could, but in the end, it was something that needed to be done.

“When the discussion to hold the vote came up, I didn’t know how important this vote was going to be. But I had heard too many calls, too many people saying that it had needed to be done for a while.” She said that one veteran teacher told her she was worn out after 17 years in the teaching profession, and had been contemplating leaving the field, but the vote gave her hope and the energy to keep going on.

“We are hoping that they (the school board) will finally listen and realize that educators have good ideas. Those are the people with boots on the ground, that really know how things work, and what works best for the students. But the teachers are frustrated at not being heard.”

The vote was not easy to carry out. According to Hewitt, the vote could not be held during lunch periods, teacher prep times, or before or after school, but instead before or after they were done working. The votes also had to be cast in-person.

“When there is 80% voter turnout for something, it says something. That this was important. The turnout was higher than voting for the school board.”

In response, the MSBSD Office of the School Board released its own statement saying the both the school board and district administration were aware that the MSEA Executive Board had held the vote, and were also surprised that such a vote had been conducted.

“The administration has weekly meetings with union leadership. This long-standing practice has resulted in many concerns being solved informally through collegial conversations. Up to this point there had not been any discussion regarding a vote of ‘no confidence.’”

Hewitt says she isn’t surprised that the school board was not aware of how the teachers and other staff were feeling.

“They are not in tune with what’s going on. Teachers don’t feel listened to, that they’re questions and concerns are not being addressed or answered.”

The statement goes on to say that regardless of the outcome, both the MSBSD school board and administration will continue to work towards the Board’s adopted goals that include high graduation rates, improved enrollment into the Career and Technical Education programs, and improved reading and math scores, and that everyone, including the teachers and support staff should be proud.

“Union leadership has routinely stated that they want to be a bridge to the administration, and the administration has honored that by being available and providing requested information and support,” and that there are numerous ways to provide feedback, but they will also be ensuring expanded opportunities for all voices to be heard.

“District administration has already reached out to MSEA leadership exploring more ways to increase communication. We will communicate additional opportunities for stakeholder groups to stay connected and stay engaged soon.”

Hewitt says that she believes that members of the MSBSD school board aren’t evil and that they do care, but they are going about it the wrong way.

“There is a leadership disconnect in our school district and it’s time for a change.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Katie Stavick at katie.stavick@frontiersman.com.