Letter to the Editor: Van Zant has record of voting against teachers

Monday night: I’ve worked a 9-hour day and decided that I can grade the rest of these projects at home. I get supper started, turn on the TV to watch the news, and then settle in my chair to begin grading some projects.

The news starts and just a few minutes in, here is the reporter talking about Clay County and Superintendent Charlie Van Zant. I stop what I’m doing and turn up the volume. Charlie is talking about visiting schools and talking to teachers and telling them how much he respects the job they are doing for the children of Clay County.

Really, Charlie? Really? Then why don’t I feel respected? Why don’t my fellow teachers feel respected?

When have you respected teachers? I must have missed that PLC on the respect that you have shown to teachers. Maybe I lost the data on your level of respect. I did some data mining of my own and I’ve seen your level of respect in your voting record. In the 2009-2010 school year, you were the only person to vote Against the motion to ratify the tentative agreement that gave teachers a step increase that wasn’t even retroactive. I believe it ended up being about half of a step. Thank goodness the other school board members voted in favor of teachers. They respected the job that we were doing that year. They did, you didn’t.

Did you respect teachers in the 2010-2011 when your wife voted nay for you? Once again, it was a vote Against teachers to ratify our contract that year.

Maybe your respect for the teachers was demonstrated in 2011-2012 when you voted, you guessed it, nay to ratify the teachers’ contract?

I guess, Mr. VanZant, my question to you is, “When have you ever shown respect to your teachers?” I can’t seem to find it in your voting record as a school board member. I surely haven’t seen it with you as superintendent. If this is your idea of respecting teachers, then you, sir, should probably go back to school and learn what respect actually is.

Your homework assignment is to research respect and then your project is to demonstrate that respect. I will make sure to grade you the only way that I can, and that, sir, will be at the ballot box in August.

Melissa Kaplan

Teacher

Green Cove Springs