LUL Statement Regarding JCPS Student Assignment Plan

P O S I T I O N  S T A T E M E N T 
June 1, 2022

The Louisville Urban League is prepared to support the proposed plan if the Jefferson County Teachers Association (JCTA) supports the plan in a meaningful way because the plan will not be successful without some changes to the collective bargaining agreement that is currently being negotiated. 

Our teachers and administrators deserve a raise, and we hope the new contract reflects a substantial pay increase for these heroes. Heroes who have pushed through a pandemic to help ensure that our students not only survived but learned, despite obstacles and challenges. We know the criticism and critique of broken systems and even have our own, but we understand that our educators are the best example of what is working for our students, even in spaces where the system itself might be failing.

It is not our teachers, but these historical system failures that cause concern. We believe the Superintendent and his team have worked to propose a student assignment plan that centers on student need.  We also understand that the only way the plan can be successful is complete implementation, thus it is imperative that we highlight the pieces of this puzzle that are incomplete without buy-in from all, including but not limited to JCTA. 

In order for the student assignment plan to work, JCTA must hold true to its mission – not a part of its mission but all of it. We highlight this tonight because we are being asked to endorse a plan that can only work if the union contract, currently being negotiated, is adjusted for its success. 

We see and have joined some of the battles that JCTA has fought in our state and know that in such a contentious world, it is easy to get so caught up in fighting for retirement benefits and putting in place guard rails to protect educators, that they forget that our teachers signed up for this work in order to ensure the success of every learner. While JCTA must advocate for the rights and interests of its members as it relates to salaries and benefits, JCTA must also fight to advance the reason its teachers became teachers in the first place. There is always a simultaneous need to prioritize promoting success for every learner. There is always a simultaneous need to advance human, civil, and economic rights for all. There is always a simultaneous need to serve as the active voice for excellence in public education. 

To that end, the current contract rightfully allows teachers to choose which schools they apply to work in. This often leads to the best-performing schools with the lowest rates of poverty having the most tenured teachers. In other words, the average tenure of a teacher at the former Roosevelt Perry might be 4 years, whereas the average tenure at St. Matthews might be 15 years. As a result, personnel costs at lower-performing schools are less each year. The result is as inequitable as the investment.

The union contract can fix this. We understand that the superintendent has proposed an increased stipend for those working in our Choice schools. We expect that stipend to be no less than $10,000 in additional income per year per employee.  We suggest this change in order to see an increased investment in schools that have higher poverty and lower resources and can be seen as less desirable assignments. CHOICE schools need support to build up a base of mentors with tenure who can help stabilize the infrastructure of those schools.  We must end the revolving door in these schools, and we understand that the union must help us to do that because their mission requires that they not only promote the success of every learner, but also advance human, civil, and economic rights for all while serving as the active voice for excellence in public education. We support the student assignment plan only to the extent that things like a $10,000 pay increase will be negotiated and reflected in writing between the district and JCTA because these are the moving parts that will help to make the plan successful. 

We also believe that the student assignment plan will be made strong by prioritizing hiring in Choice schools. There is really no other way to ensure the staffing necessary to manage the concentration of such high-need students. So, for example, we believe the union leadership will agree that should a Choice school and another school have openings for a Certified science teacher, the hiring in the Choice school will be prioritized. 

We do not want to see the creation of more high-poverty schools; this is and has been a recipe for disaster for educators and students. Our expectation is that if we find that students in Choice zones are not exercising their choices, the board and administrators will work to review the challenges rather than allowing schools with numbers like 85% poverty to exist in our community. The success of the plan will also require that the choices put before our families and students be quality choices. 

We also believe that the student assignment plan cannot be successful if the funding set aside for AIS schools is not enough or is not committed long term. 

In a nutshell, we support the plan if JCTA supports its full implementation and if this board and the current and future administration of JCPS are willing to be committed to our students in a way that is responsive to the data that we will gather after a year or two of implementation of this plan.

We support the plan if this board agrees that the funding for CHOICE schools will be put in place and will stay in place from day one of implementation. 

We support the plan if we will see a reduction in the concentration of poverty in any particular school and an increase in financial and human resources in schools where poverty is highest. 

We support the plan if this board, the administration, and JCTA can agree to prioritize staffing in the CHOICE schools. 

We support the plan if proposed curriculum changes are implemented across the board aligning academics in schools across the district. 

We expect JCTA to help us hold the board and district accountable on whether or not the proper supports are put and kept in place in our AIS schools. As the plan is enacted, we need an analysis of turnover in our choice schools compared to others in the district. We need the board and administration to be in constant review and response to the data around the achievement and success of our students. That information should be shared publicly, and we need effective responses and adjustments to the information being shared. As steps like these are taken, it will ensure fidelity to the plan that our Superintendent and his team have worked so hard to put forward.

In summary, the Louisville Urban League is prepared to support the proposed plan if JCTA supports the plan in a meaningful way because it will not be successful without some changes to the collective bargaining agreement, which we again highlight, is currently being negotiated. This is a historic moment and a historic plan with consequences that affect generations to come. The board, the administration, the community – we will all be judged by how we collectively rose to meet tonight’s moment and every consequential moment that will result from the full implementation of this student assignment plan. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: 
[email protected] | (502) 512-3681

About the Louisville Urban League
The Louisville Urban League assists African Americans and those at the margins in attaining social and economic equality and stability through direct services and advocacy. For more information, go to lul.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter  (@louisvilleUL), or Instagram (@louisville_ul).