Washington County Education Association president updates board on membership and priorities

Doug Harris, identified in the meeting as the newly elected president of the Washington County Education Association (WCEA), gave the board an update on the associations leadership and recent activities. Harris said he was elected president of the local association and introduced officers: Andrea Smith, vice president and English teacher at Danube High School; Vicky Jones, secretary at Fall Branch Elementary; Danielle Mitchell, treasurer at Grandview Elementary; and Jennifer Hill, membership chair at Ridgeview Elementary.

Harris told the board the WCEA has been active this year, citing a membership drive and a "future breakfast" at Central Office in July and recruitment at the July 29 opening-in-service at Jonesborough Elementary. He said membership has grown since last year but that the WCEA would provide precise membership numbers after the association meeting on Sept. 16. When asked for a current estimate, board members and Harris referenced roughly 600 teachers in the system (staff counts varied in the discussion), and one exchange suggested membership could be around 60% of a subset (transcript references estimate comments).

Harris said the WCEA supported staff and teacher raises this year and expressed appreciation for the boards work on that issue. He also said the association will encourage teachers to participate in a statewide teacher survey in September concerning standardized testing and evaluation laws; a committee in Nashville is reviewing related matters and is expected to report in December.

The board asked questions about membership totals and raises; Harris said the WCEA would report an exact membership number after the Sept. 16 meeting. No formal board action resulted from the presentation.