Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I don't believe that government worker unions should exist, and
certainly they shouldn't be allowed to collectively bargain. Even Fdr
Big Liberal that he was, was against the ability of
government workers to collectively bargain.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
And teachers unions. I love teachers. I despise teachers.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Unions because because schools and teachers have a mission, and
the mission is to educate our children and prepare them
for the future, and perhaps help them to be good
citizens and a few other things that you might think of.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Teachers unions do not care about that.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Their members might, right, some of their members might. The
teachers might, but the leaders of the unions don't. All
they care about is maximizing the revenue to the union.
And well anyway, okay, enough of my enough of my rambling.
So there was some great news in Colorado yesterday coming
out of Colorado Springs, specifically District eleven, the D eleven
(01:01):
school Board, and joining us to talk about what the
school board did last night in the Springs is Jill Hafley,
who's vice president of the D eleven school Board.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Good morning, Jill, thanks for joining us on KOA.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Good morning, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
What was the vote last night that we're talking about today.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
The board voted in a six to one vote to
not renew the master Agreement with the Colorado Springs Education
Association or the Teachers' Union.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
By the way, I can already tell that I really
like how concise you are with your answer, So keep
that going. Uh, thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
What is a master agreement?
Speaker 3 (01:41):
So this is an agreement between the union and the
school district about essentially what the district can do and
what it can't do. It also expresses what teachers are
allowed to have, essentially their pay, their retirement, those sorts
(02:03):
of things, and that was something that we did not
want to see change in terms of teachers. We didn't
want them to think that they were being cut off
at the knees. Their pay won't be changed, their benefits
won't be changed, their retirement won't be changed, their leave
won't be changed. They still have a duty free launch.
(02:24):
None of these things are are going to change for them.
The only change that will be for teachers will be
better things for them. That's what we're about, is we're
one hundred percent behind teachers.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
What does it mean. Let's dig down on that a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
If you're a union member, teacher in d eleven right now,
and you're you don't necessarily love the union, and maybe
you don't necessarily love that some of your union dues
end up going out in Colorado Springs to support Democratic
candidates in other places, but you do feel like the
union gives you some protection.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And some benefits. How do you make that teacher feel better?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And one of toocus on specifically in your answer is
not all the stuff that's going to stay the same,
Because that's clear enough when you're talking about we're going
to do some things that make things better for teachers.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Tell me a little about that. Well, the idea.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Here is that all teachers have a voice at the table,
not just a segment of them. The c SEA only
represents about sixty percent of the teaching staff in District eleven,
so that other forty percent doesn't really have a voice,
and we want to make sure that everybody has that voice.
It's inclusive and there's some equity there for them.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Okay, So again, just from the perspective of a teacher,
say a teacher calls you and says, I'm worried that
you know, I'm not going to here's one I'm worried
that I'm not going to have this union representing me
when it comes time to negotiate for a raise, and
then I'm not going to get a raise, and then
(03:57):
I'm going to have to leave D eleven.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
What do you say to that person, I would say.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
That's not true. While the process will look differently, it
will be more like a meet and confer that we
do with our other two employee groups, the executive professionals
and our educational support personnel. So now it's not an
US versus stem. Everybody's on an even keel. And I
totally get it because I'm a teacher. I spent thirty
(04:24):
years in the classroom. Twenty nine of those years were
in D eleven. I was a member of the union twice.
I didn't necessarily benefit from it, honestly. But it's not
about necessarily me or my opinion of the union. It's
about what's right to do for teachers, and we think
we can do a better job of that. On top
(04:45):
of that, the union CSA is the sole representation of
teachers in the school district, and if that doesn't work
for some teachers, they have no choice. And I don't
think that's a right thing to do. For our teachers
everyd but he should have the choice to find something
that fits them.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more So, this is
a very basic question. Does this mean that, however many
tens or hundreds of dollars a month or a year
or whatever that these teachers are currently paying in union dues,
that money is just going to stay in their paychecks?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Now?
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Correct?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
What is unless they choose to continue with csdah.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So they can they can stay.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
In the union, but the union won't be able to
collectively bargain with you.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Correct, got it? Okay? So this this.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Agreement that will end, by the way, in what month
will it officially end?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
It ends June thirtieth of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
So this agreement is fifty eight years old or something
like that. So you could ask this question either either way, like,
since it's been there fifty eight years, why are you
doing it? Is one way you could ask it. The
other way is why did it take so long?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I guess an argument could be made for both. But
the idea that the Master Agreement is constraining to district
operations is a focus we want to address. It doesn't
provide flexibility to increase future compensation for teachers. It doesn't
allow for us to hire for specific expertise in a
tight job market. It doesn't allow us to be innovative
(06:29):
in classroom and professional development opportunities. I mean, there's all
sorts of things that it prevents us from doing and
that ultimately will end up hurting teachers.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
There are some teachers who have said that, you know,
they might want to teach this, that or the other.
Thing that might be let's say, getting near the line
of what some people might think is okay to teach
in classrooms. And you know, maybe you're in a conservative
area and you've got a liberal teacher, which is fine,
you know.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
But I think some of these teachers seem to.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Feel worried that without the union protecting them, they might
get in trouble for what they're teaching, even if they're
not trying to cross the line. You know, they're teaching
something maybe a little edgy, but they think it's okay.
How would you make a teacher like that feel a
little better.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
The teachers still have academic freedom. There's a curriculum that
the school district has that's approved by the board, and
we take that very seriously. We make sure that it's
all on the up and up, and there are things
in there that certainly that teachers shouldn't be stepping in
and taking place with the parents and teaching their kids.
(07:38):
So we want to make sure that teachers are aware
that they still have academic freedom, that they don't have
the freedom to teach their own agenda. They don't have
the freedom to teach their own political biases. That's not
what a public school is for.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
How much of this move, then we've got about a
minute here, But how much of this move, which I
thoroughly applaud I'm so glad that you guys did this is.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Based on.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
The school board wanting to be able to rein in
to some degree, teachers doing the teaching things that many
parents would consider either inappropriate, like you know, sex, gender stuff,
or some kind.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Of political propaganda.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
And you know, we got to be a little careful there,
because you know, just because one parent is hyper sensitive
to an issue doesn't actually mean that it was across
the line, but is part of your motivation wanting to
be able to control that kind of teacher behavior a
little better.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Certainly, we want to make sure that that people aren't
bringing their own agenda and their own biases into their classroom.
We want to make sure that the learning environment is neutral.
It's not supposed to be about politics. It's not supposed
to be about somebody's gender. It's supposed to be about reading, writing, math, history, science,
(08:57):
these kinds of things. So certainly that's going to be
looked at, but that would have been looked at regardless.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Okay, last question for you.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Throughout this process, you have heard, you plural have heard
from lots and lots of people. I'm curious what was
the most common message you got, either in favor or
against this from parents of students, not from teachers.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
You know, parents are reiterating to me, and they do
so one to one, face to face, or even even
on an email. They want to make sure that their
children aren't being inundated with other people's beliefs and values.
They want to make sure that their values and their
belief systems within their family are respected, and that teachers
(09:50):
aren't getting between parents and children. And that's got to
be a real thing that people need to understand. We
cannot get between parents and their kids.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Jill Hafley as vice president of the Colorado Springs D.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Eleven school Board.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
They voted yesterday to end the fifty eight year old
master Agreement between the school board and the Colorado Springs
Education Association the Teachers' union.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I think it's this is a time to.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Break out the champagne and maybe a little early in
the day. Hopefully you drank some champagne and celebration last night, Jill,
because you sure earned it. Thanks so much for your
time and thanks for what you've done.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Thank you
I don't believe that government worker unions should exist, and
certainly they shouldn't be allowed to collectively bargain. Even Fdr
Big Liberal that he was, was against the ability of
government workers to collectively bargain.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
And teachers unions. I love teachers. I despise teachers.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
Unions because because schools and teachers have a mission, and
the mission is to educate our children and prepare them
for the future, and perhaps help them to be good
citizens and a few other things that you might think of.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Teachers unions do not care about that.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Their members might, right, some of their members might. The
teachers might, but the leaders of the unions don't. All
they care about is maximizing the revenue to the union.
And well anyway, okay, enough of my enough of my rambling.
So there was some great news in Colorado yesterday coming
out of Colorado Springs, specifically District eleven, the D eleven
(01:01):
school Board, and joining us to talk about what the
school board did last night in the Springs is Jill Hafley,
who's vice president of the D eleven school Board.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Good morning, Jill, thanks for joining us on KOA.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Good morning, Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
What was the vote last night that we're talking about today.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
The board voted in a six to one vote to
not renew the master Agreement with the Colorado Springs Education
Association or the Teachers' Union.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
By the way, I can already tell that I really
like how concise you are with your answer, So keep
that going. Uh, thank you.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
What is a master agreement?
Speaker 3 (01:41):
So this is an agreement between the union and the
school district about essentially what the district can do and
what it can't do. It also expresses what teachers are
allowed to have, essentially their pay, their retirement, those sorts
(02:03):
of things, and that was something that we did not
want to see change in terms of teachers. We didn't
want them to think that they were being cut off
at the knees. Their pay won't be changed, their benefits
won't be changed, their retirement won't be changed, their leave
won't be changed. They still have a duty free launch.
(02:24):
None of these things are are going to change for them.
The only change that will be for teachers will be
better things for them. That's what we're about, is we're
one hundred percent behind teachers.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
What does it mean. Let's dig down on that a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
If you're a union member, teacher in d eleven right now,
and you're you don't necessarily love the union, and maybe
you don't necessarily love that some of your union dues
end up going out in Colorado Springs to support Democratic
candidates in other places, but you do feel like the
union gives you some protection.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
And some benefits. How do you make that teacher feel better?
Speaker 1 (02:59):
And one of toocus on specifically in your answer is
not all the stuff that's going to stay the same,
Because that's clear enough when you're talking about we're going
to do some things that make things better for teachers.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Tell me a little about that. Well, the idea.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Here is that all teachers have a voice at the table,
not just a segment of them. The c SEA only
represents about sixty percent of the teaching staff in District eleven,
so that other forty percent doesn't really have a voice,
and we want to make sure that everybody has that voice.
It's inclusive and there's some equity there for them.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Okay, So again, just from the perspective of a teacher,
say a teacher calls you and says, I'm worried that
you know, I'm not going to here's one I'm worried
that I'm not going to have this union representing me
when it comes time to negotiate for a raise, and
then I'm not going to get a raise, and then
(03:57):
I'm going to have to leave D eleven.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
What do you say to that person, I would say.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
That's not true. While the process will look differently, it
will be more like a meet and confer that we
do with our other two employee groups, the executive professionals
and our educational support personnel. So now it's not an
US versus stem. Everybody's on an even keel. And I
totally get it because I'm a teacher. I spent thirty
(04:24):
years in the classroom. Twenty nine of those years were
in D eleven. I was a member of the union twice.
I didn't necessarily benefit from it, honestly. But it's not
about necessarily me or my opinion of the union. It's
about what's right to do for teachers, and we think
we can do a better job of that. On top
(04:45):
of that, the union CSA is the sole representation of
teachers in the school district, and if that doesn't work
for some teachers, they have no choice. And I don't
think that's a right thing to do. For our teachers
everyd but he should have the choice to find something
that fits them.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yeah, I couldn't agree with you more So, this is
a very basic question. Does this mean that, however many
tens or hundreds of dollars a month or a year
or whatever that these teachers are currently paying in union dues,
that money is just going to stay in their paychecks?
Speaker 3 (05:19):
Now?
Speaker 1 (05:21):
Correct?
Speaker 3 (05:23):
What is unless they choose to continue with csdah.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
So they can they can stay.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
In the union, but the union won't be able to
collectively bargain with you.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
Correct, got it? Okay? So this this.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
Agreement that will end, by the way, in what month
will it officially end?
Speaker 3 (05:44):
It ends June thirtieth of twenty twenty five.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
So this agreement is fifty eight years old or something
like that. So you could ask this question either either way, like,
since it's been there fifty eight years, why are you
doing it? Is one way you could ask it. The
other way is why did it take so long?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
I guess an argument could be made for both. But
the idea that the Master Agreement is constraining to district
operations is a focus we want to address. It doesn't
provide flexibility to increase future compensation for teachers. It doesn't
allow for us to hire for specific expertise in a
tight job market. It doesn't allow us to be innovative
(06:29):
in classroom and professional development opportunities. I mean, there's all
sorts of things that it prevents us from doing and
that ultimately will end up hurting teachers.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
There are some teachers who have said that, you know,
they might want to teach this, that or the other.
Thing that might be let's say, getting near the line
of what some people might think is okay to teach
in classrooms. And you know, maybe you're in a conservative
area and you've got a liberal teacher, which is fine,
you know.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
But I think some of these teachers seem to.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Feel worried that without the union protecting them, they might
get in trouble for what they're teaching, even if they're
not trying to cross the line. You know, they're teaching
something maybe a little edgy, but they think it's okay.
How would you make a teacher like that feel a
little better.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
The teachers still have academic freedom. There's a curriculum that
the school district has that's approved by the board, and
we take that very seriously. We make sure that it's
all on the up and up, and there are things
in there that certainly that teachers shouldn't be stepping in
and taking place with the parents and teaching their kids.
(07:38):
So we want to make sure that teachers are aware
that they still have academic freedom, that they don't have
the freedom to teach their own agenda. They don't have
the freedom to teach their own political biases. That's not
what a public school is for.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
How much of this move, then we've got about a
minute here, But how much of this move, which I
thoroughly applaud I'm so glad that you guys did this is.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Based on.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
The school board wanting to be able to rein in
to some degree, teachers doing the teaching things that many
parents would consider either inappropriate, like you know, sex, gender stuff,
or some kind.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
Of political propaganda.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
And you know, we got to be a little careful there,
because you know, just because one parent is hyper sensitive
to an issue doesn't actually mean that it was across
the line, but is part of your motivation wanting to
be able to control that kind of teacher behavior a
little better.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Certainly, we want to make sure that that people aren't
bringing their own agenda and their own biases into their classroom.
We want to make sure that the learning environment is neutral.
It's not supposed to be about politics. It's not supposed
to be about somebody's gender. It's supposed to be about reading, writing, math, history, science,
(08:57):
these kinds of things. So certainly that's going to be
looked at, but that would have been looked at regardless.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
Okay, last question for you.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
Throughout this process, you have heard, you plural have heard
from lots and lots of people. I'm curious what was
the most common message you got, either in favor or
against this from parents of students, not from teachers.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
You know, parents are reiterating to me, and they do
so one to one, face to face, or even even
on an email. They want to make sure that their
children aren't being inundated with other people's beliefs and values.
They want to make sure that their values and their
belief systems within their family are respected, and that teachers
(09:50):
aren't getting between parents and children. And that's got to
be a real thing that people need to understand. We
cannot get between parents and their kids.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Jill Hafley as vice president of the Colorado Springs D.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Eleven school Board.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
They voted yesterday to end the fifty eight year old
master Agreement between the school board and the Colorado Springs
Education Association the Teachers' union.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
I think it's this is a time to.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Break out the champagne and maybe a little early in
the day. Hopefully you drank some champagne and celebration last night, Jill,
because you sure earned it. Thanks so much for your
time and thanks for what you've done.
Speaker 2 (10:28):
Thank you
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