Educators' lawsuit results in return of teacher supply money

Here's some news that apparently wasn't reported in local media: Educators who belong to The South Carolina Education Association filed suit against the Lexington/Richland School District 5 to preserve teacher supply money and won a settlement with the district. An email last Friday told the story:

When the Lexington/Richland School District 5 acted to transfer the Teacher Supply Allocation from the General Assembly for the 2010-2011 school year to its general fund, members asked The SCEA and ICEA for help.

The Teacher Supply Allocation provides money for classroom supplies that teachers need to teach their students. If a District does not provide the supply funds to teachers, students have to do without or teachers must reach even deeper into their own pockets. Teachers already spend their own money generously on supplies.

The Association's attorney went to work to seek justice in Richland County Court of Common Pleas. After months of discovery and negotiations, the District agreed to make an additional $50.00 per teacher allocation of funds to schools for classroom supplies during the 2011-2012 school year. In announcing the settlement, the District stated that “...it would be more beneficial to the teachers to make these funds available for supplies rather than spending the money on attorney fees to litigate the matter.”

“In fact,” said Jackie B. Hicks, President of The SCEA, “had the District gone to court, it would have incurred costly legal expenses and, we believe, still would have had to allocate the supply money, as required by law. It’s a shame it took a lawsuit to make the District do the right thing for students.”

Thanks to members in Lexington/Richland School District 5 who stood up for their rights and the support they received from The SCEA and ICEA, every eligible teacher and student will benefit.

Evidence that when educators get organized, educators win.