Teachers union defends resolution as protected speech and urges transparency on proposed bond

Representatives of the Saint Tammany Federation of Teachers and School Employees addressed the committee on April 3 to defend a resolution the union presented and to press district leaders for greater transparency around a proposed bond.

At public comment, union speaker Mr. Osborne said individuals had accused the Federation of election interference after the union’s executive vice president, Stephanie Underwood, presented a resolution at the March 20 board meeting. "The reading of that resolution is core political speech protected under the first amendment of the United States Constitution," Osborne said, adding that the union’s attorneys confirmed the legal position.

Stephanie Underwood, the union’s executive vice president, expanded on members’ concerns about the proposed bond and the district’s prioritization of funds. Underwood said members had questions not about pay but about trust, transparency and whether commitments to employees and students would be honored. She said members felt blindsided when the board replaced a long-standing collective bargaining agreement with a handbook after a prior resolution appeared to commit to a successor agreement; that experience, she said, contributed to a deficit of trust.

Underwood said the union had consulted legal counsel before sharing the union resolution and that counsel had advised the union that the resolution did not constitute election interference. She said the union is not currently authorized by members to marshal union resources to promote the bond and that members need clearer commitments and priorities before they could support it. "If we're going to be able to stand behind this with you, we need your help to rebuild that trust," Underwood said.

The union asked Superintendent Jabia to "help remedy the situation" and urged fact-based discourse and proactive engagement between district leadership and employees. The speakers said repeating unfounded accusations on social media and by some officials undermines collaboration and chills employee speech.

Ending: The public-comment remarks called for renewed dialogue and transparency; no formal board action or response by the superintendent is recorded in the provided transcript excerpt.