Allentown School District Teachers ordered to not criticize the administration

[JPZenger]

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-allentown-schools-freedom-of-speec20110413,0,4176881,full.story

The Superintendent of the Allentown School District continually tries to carry out asinine plans --- from cutting 1 hr. and 45 minutes from the high school day, to moving all the college prep kids from newly renovated buildings to a small separate building in da ghetto, to eliminating all middle school social studies teachers.

Each week, a leak occurs allowing teachers and parents to find out about the latest horrible idea. They then pack the school board meeting to oppose it. The school board doesn't say anything, but eventually the horrible ideas are each killed.

Now the administration has sent out an email (after it was approved by the District Solicitors) to all teachers ordering them to stop criticizing the administration. If the teachers do, they will face disciplinary action.

The legal issues involving free speech are described well in the article.

Any smart lawyers out there?

By the way, the administration is also proposing to eliminate 250 teachers in a couple months.

[CBGLuthier]

1. At meetings? Who the hell does this guy think he is?

I thought maybe they meant in the classroom, which I would agree with. But to say their employees forfeir the rights that all others have to speak at these meetings is nonsense.

[Smarmie Doofus]

2. Gut the union first. Then tell the citizenry what they cannot say....

... and , in time, what they must not think.

They call it "reform".

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. It's called free speech

You don't need a lawyer. We have a constitution.

[DebJ]

4. Isn't this because teachers know less about education than

anyone else? (sarcasm)

[JPZenger]

5. It was really valuable for the teachers to speak up

The new Superintendent came in with an agenda that was disconnected with reality. Fortunately, enough teachers and students showed up at the school board that the school board felt a need to have a public input process. That process resulted in a thousand logical reasons in writing why the Superintendent's plan was ill-advised.

The main components of that plan were then scrapped.