It would be ill-advised for us to jump ahead of the process.Amy Green, Fayette County Public School Board member
The public action meeting got off to a heated start, with board member Monica Mundy moving to take action on a long-sought-after collective bargaining vote for district employees.
"I motion that the board add an item to the action portion of tonight's agenda to consider a vote on a resolution in support of collective bargaining for district employees," she said, prompting applause and sign-waving in the room. "This topic has been of continued interest to staff and community members and all employees should have the opportunity to vote."
Fellow board member Amy Green quickly countered that the move was premature, given ongoing efforts to create a workgroup on the issue.
"There is a workgroup that is about to start that is employee-led, so it would be ill-advised for us to jump ahead of the process," she responded.
The exchange grew testy, with one board member accusing Superintendent Demetrus Liggins of lying about matters surrounding the workgroup and its membership.
Mundy's motion ultimately failed on a 3-2 vote, but passions still ran high in the public comment period later in the meeting.
"Let them vote. Let our educators and our staff who we trust with our with the lives and education of our children have the freedom to decide who will represent them," one speaker urged.
Others accused the board of quashing the motion out of a fear of the result.
"You are simply blocking this vote because you're afraid of who would win this vote," another speaker said.
Liggins said the collective bargaining workgroup called for by the Fayette County Education Association has been created, but stopped short of offering many details. The workgroup is set to study the issue and educate the community on the collective bargaining process.
The board did not add any new votes on the matter to future agendas.