| Updated: 6/06/2010 8:12 am |
Published: 6/05/2010 7:55 pm |
A group of five Pulaski County Special School District teachers is suing the district.
In this class action lawsuit, the teachers claim the board's decision to dissolve the union by month's end is illegal.
"The deadline is drawing near, and I think some folks are feeling a little bit desperate," says PCSSD Board President Tim Clark.
With with just two days of school left, teachers are challenging the school board's decision to replace their union with a Personnel Policies Committee, or PPC, July first.
"I'm not surprised. I mean, this was pretty expected," says Clark.
A hearing later this month would have been the next step in the legal battle between the district and the unions, but, in the 98 page complaint filed Friday in circuit court, the teachers claim the district can't scrap the union because "it is not reasonable to expect teachers to form a Personnel Policies Committee in the last month of school" and review those policies during summer break.
PACT's attorney told FOX16's Kelly Dudzik Saturday, "unfortunately, this board does not want to afford the teachers their opportunity for input."
"The timing is a little off, but I think that we have more than substantially abided by the law," added Clark.
State law says PPCs have form in the first quarter.
Teachers rallied last month, saying they want their contract to continue even though the board decided to stop recognizing it twice.
Then, under the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act, the district held a hearing for union members.
The majority of the board, which usually votes 4-3, is confident the judge will rule in its favor to replace the union with the PPC.
"We're getting extremely tired of these kinds of events occuring, especially at the end of the school period especially when all focus should be place on the children," says Clark.
The teachers' attorney won't let them speak publicly about the case.
The last day of school for PCSSD students is Tuesday.
