Teachers’ right to rally protected, Lee says

Will Oconee teachers go red on Wednesday and join their counterparts from other counties for a rally at the State House in Columbia? At least one Oconee school leader does not expect many county teachers will be absent from the classrooms on that day. But if they choose to stay out for the rally, trustees’ chairman Jerry Lee, says their rights are protected. “We do have a leave policy and they (the teachers) are certainly authorized to use it for that,” Lee said this morning. South Carolina teachers plan to show their muscle in favor of education reform and better pay. A call that Lee fielded from a Charleston newspaper reporter sought information about a near-strike that Oconee County teachers staged 40 years ago. Lee was a first-year county trustee in 1979. At one point then, Oconee teachers sought double-digit percentage pay increases, but they were strongly resisted by those who controlled the purse strings—the school board and the county council. In a mass meeting of teachers, the question of striking was defeated 191-129. But, in the end, Oconee teachers claimed victory. Trustees granted raises, except for a 7% retroactive raise. Fast forward to 2019. Oconee trustees are willing to award four percent raises for teachers. Is that adequate? Lee says, “No, that’s not adequate.” This Wednesday’s rally comes in the waning days of the 2019 legislature. Lee hopes that, by next year’s session, the state reforms education enough to increase teacher salary even more.