Response to Liability Insurance Proposals
There has been a great deal of information supplied to you from the TSBA and from Governor Don Sundquist about liability insurance at a much cheaper rate than your GEA/TEA/NEA dues. As President of GEA, I want our members to be informed. Please take some time to read the information below and make up your own mind about the benefits of being a member of our organization. The link below also will show you benefits of being a TEA member.
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You may receive a letter in school mail from Governor Sundquist asking you to purchase liability insurance through the Tennessee School Board’s Association (TSBA). Let’s take another look at that offer. First, you already have liability coverage through your Tennessee Education Association (TEA) membership as well as many other services and benefits. In addition, the school board has purchased liability insurance for the school district, including you. Secondly, liability coverage is not enough. Liability insurance covers only a very narrow type of legal assistance, when you are sued because someone alleges you are responsible for injuring someone. Your TEA field representative based in our district,
Mike Lee, answers questions and assists TEA members with pay problems,
certification issues, evaluation concerns, transfer issues, complaints
from parents, student accusations, meetings with immediate supervisors,
grievances, and many other issues that teachers face on a daily basis. NONE OF THESE ARE COVERED BY A
LIABILITY POLICY. The TSBA which is offering the policy is the same group which has insisted that “Working Conditions” in Hawkins County consists of heat light, and air. They believe teachers should have no say in posting of positions, school calendar, planning time, duty free lunch, etc. Throughout its history, TSBA has advocated for reductions in teachers’ rights when they were in conflict with school board’s rights. The TEA, on the other hand, has a 137 year history of supporting teachers and their students. TEA continually lobbies the state legislature on your behalf. TSBA on the other hand lobbies on behalf of the board of education. It comes down to a question of who you can trust. Finally, Governor Sundquist, the TSBA, and some other politicians want to see the TEA weakened because we are recognized as a strong force in advocating for teachers and the students they teach. To reduce our numbers would weaken our lobbying potential. That is what the governor and his cronies want. Don’t play into their hand and fall for the idea that all you need is a liability policy. YOU NEED SO MUCH MORE. Hawkins County Education Association
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