School board hears speech
Teacher gets court-ordered five minutes, standing ovation
By RENA HAVNER, al.com, November 16, 2004

Armed with a court order, third-grade teacher Cindy Naylor on Monday finished the five-minute speech before the Mobile County school board that she started three weeks ago.

Holding signs made out of paper plates that read "Applause!" "Preach it sister!" and "I know that's right!" teachers in the audience listened.

The approximately 50 teachers were much quieter than the 200 who showed up at an Oct. 26 board meeting, cheering and applauding Naylor as she told the board that she feels teachers are required to complete too much paperwork and deserve raises.

Board President Lonnie Parsons said the Oct. 26 crowd was being unruly and that it was difficult for the board to conduct its business. He cut Naylor's speech short, shut down the meeting and then rescheduled it for the next morning, when the teachers were supposed to be in class.

Naylor, a third-grade teacher at Dixon Elementary School in Irvington, successfully sued the school board. Mobile County Circuit Judge Joseph "Rusty" Johnston said that a person's right to speak cannot be withheld because members of the audience applaud. He required the board to reconvene the Oct. 26 meeting to let Naylor finish her speech.

Naylor said teachers are "consumed by" and "buried in" paperwork and testing data.

"We're so busy testing that we barely have time to see what each child needs," Naylor told the board. "When was the last time any of you spent time in a classroom?"

With her daughter sitting in front of her holding a sign and her husband kissing her gently on her cheek, Naylor tried to hold back tears as two other teachers approached the podium to give the speeches they also were unable to give Oct. 26.

Naylor and both of the other speakers said paperwork is taking away valuable class time. They each said that they did not understand why the school board recently gave bonuses to football coaches and band directors, but not regular classroom teachers.

"We teach the football players how to read those play books and how to calculate the statistics from the last game," said Semmes Middle School teacher Don Evans.

"Your desire for keeping and attracting coaches was heard loud and clear," added John Will Elementary teacher Susan Massengale. "But your desire for keeping and attracting teachers was deafening."

Teachers from Dixon Elementary made about 10 signs and dispersed them among the audience. Naylor said the teachers did not know whether they would be able to applaud at all, but they wanted to show their support.

Board member John Holland held a sign that read "applause." The remaining members of the board showed little emotion as they listened to Naylor.

"I agree with most of what you said," Parsons said.

At several points in Naylor's speech, some teachers clapped. One teacher periodically said, "Amen." Naylor received a hesitant standing ovation, with a few teachers standing at first. The remaining teachers watched the board members for a reaction, then stood up and applauded.

"It feels wonderful," Naylor said after the meeting. "I could not see living in a country where the people who I worked for did not honor my right to speak."

Parsons said all along that he would have welcomed Naylor to speak at any school board meeting, as long as the audience remained calm. He recommended Oct. 26 that the board form a committee to review the amount of paperwork that teachers must complete.

"I'd like to tell everyone in the Mobile community to please come out to our meetings," Parsons said after the meeting. "I encourage everyone to, but normally, no one shows up."

The board meets in a room with the capacity to hold 46 people, including the five board members and the top school system administrators. On Monday, teachers occupied each seat, lined the walls and spilled into the hallway.

Superintendent Harold Dodge on Monday recommended nine people to serve on the paperwork committee, including teachers and administrators. "I'm glad to listen," Dodge said.

The board will meet at 9 a.m. today to swear in its newest member, Bill Meredith of Irvington. Meredith was elected to replace Peggy Nikolakis.

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