March 9, 2018
BOYD CO. WALK-OUT RUMORED FOR FRIDAY
Is Lawrence County next?
A walk-in was scheduled and carried out for Friday morning at Boyd County Schools to raise awareness for a pension bill and what the proposed changes could do. Kentucky state Senators say the bill would save taxpayers $3.2 billion over the next 20 years and stabilize one of the country’s worst-funded public pension systems.
Opponents say all it does is change and reduce the retirement for state employees.
“They’re taking away money that was promised,” Missy Conley, president of the Boyd County Education Association, said. “Our pension was a promise to us many years ago. They borrowed money from it, and now they can’t pay it back.”
“We’re going to be losing all of these qualified teachers because they’re not going to want to teach in Kentucky,” teacher Angie Heyerly told WSAZ.
Conley says the teachers were inspired by the actions of West Virginia teachers during their walk-ins and eventual strike.
“They were trailblazers,” Conley said. “They kind of set the stage for us.”
The walk-in did not impact the school day. Teachers were out with their signs and waving as students were being dropped off, and when the bell rang they went inside and started the day as normal.
However many state employees have spoken and made it very clear that It’s only a matter of time until Kentucky stands up for the promises made to them.
I reached out to a 7th grade teacher, Melissa Gray at Boyd County Middle School and she stated, “We are not only fighting for our pensions, we are fighting for our students! They deserve adequate funding and we believe that a promise of a pension should be kept,” Ms. Gray said. “This not only affects teachers but it will have an impact on the entire state of Kentucky. It is time to come together and support each other, cuts in education never heal and we are never better for them.”
“Our Kentucky kids deserve the best. We have done our part funding the pension, now it is their turn and they need to do so without punishing the teachers.”
“Thank you to all that have shown support. I have also reached out to a couple of Lawrence County teachers, and they were busy with the professional development training today, but I’m certain that this is not the end of Kentucky’s stand.”
