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Educator representatives urge district action on unsustainable teacher workload
Summary
EACC and AFSCME representatives told the board teachers and support staff face growing administrative and out-of-class duties that reduce planning time and increase stress; union leaders asked the board to review expectations and consider removing low-value tasks.
A representative of the Charles County educators association and AFSCME Local 2981 said at the Sept. 9 board meeting that educators and support staff are near a breaking point because of cumulative administrative tasks and after-hours responsibilities.
EACC speaker described the day-to-day workload teachers face: multiple duties (hall, bus, lunch), paperwork and sign-in processes, parent conferences squeezed into planning time, frequent interruptions, and extensive follow-up such as grading and creating makeup assessments. "Ultimately, what is being asked of educators is unsustainable," the speaker said, urging the board "to take a step back and examine what can be removed from teachers' plates."
Stephanie Lawson, vice president of AFSCME Local 2981, reported on support-staff union activities: steward training, monthly meetings and large turnout at the system's baseball bash. "For those of you who are already serving as stewards, Local 2981 will be hosting a refresher class later this month," she said.
Why it matters: educators and support staff perform critical functions that affect daily instruction and student safety. Board members acknowledged the concerns and asked district leaders to consider both systemic and schedule-level solutions that could free planning time and reduce after-hours burden.
Details and board reaction
- Workload examples: The educator described chronically compressed planning periods (45 minutes often reduced by meetings, calls and frequent student questions) and the time costs of administering makeup tests and retests for dozens of students. The speaker said collaborative planning time is being added in some places but asked how that time will be covered in schools without block schedules.
- Suggested remedies: The speaker asked district leaders and the board to review which administrative expectations can be removed or streamlined and to consider time and compensation priorities.
- Union activities: AFSCME said it has more than 300 staff and family members who attended the system's baseball bash and offered training and steward support this month; the union urged staff interested in stewardship to contact its officers.
Board members thanked the speakers and said they would continue to monitor the issue; some members emphasized the importance of protecting teacher planning time and exploring systems-level changes to reduce administrative load.
Ending: The board did not take formal action at the meeting but requested staff follow-up on workload and schedule impacts as implementation of collaborative planning and MTSS proceeds.
