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Parents and teachers urge Geary County Schools to halt proposed cut to teacher planning time, allege mishandled student investigation
Summary
Public commenters and teachers told the Geary County Board of Education that a proposed reduction in high‑school planning time would violate negotiated agreements and harm students, and some parents accused district staff of mishandling and 'victim shaming' in a recent assault investigation.
Public commenters and teachers pressed the Geary County Board of Education on Tuesday over what they described as two connected concerns: an alleged incomplete investigation into a student assault and a district proposal to reduce high‑school teacher planning time.
Dr. John Markham, a teacher of 18 years and member of the JCEA negotiating team, told the board the district proposed cutting planned time at the H.D. Karnes building from 80 minutes to 60 minutes. "Under the proposed plan, we would stand to lose approximately 3,400 minutes of planned time, which is roughly 57 hours or the equivalent of 9.5 planned days of planning," Markham said, and argued that the change would conflict with the district's negotiated agreement unless the agreement language is explicitly revised.
Dr. Patricia Dozier, who said she works at the H.D. Karnes building, said many students at the alternative school require intensive behavior supports and that cutting planning time would reduce staff collaboration and weaken interventions. "Taking minutes away from our certified teachers' plan will not only weaken the building scaffold teamwork, but hurt a lot of people," Dozier said.
Separately, several parents spoke during public comment about how the district handled reports of student assault. Michael Miller said the investigation treated some witnesses as "too young" or "biased," and called the inquiry "bogus," telling the board, "each and every one of you should be ashamed of yourself." Christina Miller said staff asked why her children had not reported the assault sooner and suggested "blurred lines" because of a prior dating relationship; she told the board, "No more victim shaming our children for not coming forward sooner."
Board members did not reverse any administrative proposals on the spot. The comments were heard before the board recessed to executive session to discuss employer‑employee negotiations and later returned to finalize personnel and compensation items on the agenda.
What happens next: teachers and the JCEA negotiating team remain engaged in talks with district administration about the planning‑time proposal; board members indicated they would continue discussing ratification and implementation issues in future sessions.
