How a little-known feud between two teacher groups fueled last week’s ‘sickout’
Donna House, executive director of the Kentucky Association of Professional Educators, came to Frankfort at the beginning of this year’s legislative session armed with a yellow sheet of paper listing state laws that she said give the Kentucky Education Association control over government operations.
Among the statutes listed was one that granted KEA control over the nominating process for seven members of the board of trustees for the Teachers’ Retirement System of Kentucky. These laws are unfair to KAPE, which also represents teachers, House contended.
It was this little-known feud between KAPE and KEA, the largest teachers’ group in the state, that fueled what eventually became a teacher “sick-out” last Thursday that closed eight school districts, including Fayette and Jefferson counties, as a House panel considered a bill that would diminish KEA’s influence over the retirement system.
“I know of no other board, created by statute, that has its membership controlled almost entirely by one private organization,” Rep. Ken Upchurch, R-Monticello, told the House State Government Committee Thursday.
House Bill 525, the bill proposed by Upchurch, would instead spread the power to nominate retirement system trustees to seven education-related professional groups, including KAPE. (It also would increase the total number of board members from 11 to 13, allowing the governor to appoint a nominee from the Kentucky Society of CPA’s and adding an additional trustee voted on by members of TRS.)
Of those seven groups, KAPE is the only one that has publicly supported the measure. The KEA, the Kentucky Retired Teachers’ Association and the Jefferson County Teachers’ Association all oppose the bill.
Upchurch, who is not a teacher but joined KAPE as an associate member last year, called House after seeing the yellow sheet she distributed in January. He asked her a few questions and said he would look into it and left it at that, House said.
So House said she was surprised last week when she heard about House Bill 525 and made the rare move of speaking out in favor of it.
“On this particular bill, we believe that all teachers and associations deserve to have a voice and representation on a board that determines how our retirement benefits come out,” House told the Herald-Leader Thursday.
House said she thinks the statute had been on lawmakers’ minds for a while.
KEA President Stephanie Winkler said Monday she isn’t very familiar with KAPE because she isn’t a member of the organization.
“I know they often try to undermine work that is being done by our organization based on forwards I get of emails and social media, but I really have no comment beyond that,” Winkler said.
House’s group is relatively small. KAPE has about 3,200 members, compared to the KEA’s 43,000. The group focuses on providing liability insurance to teachers — something KEA also offers — and updating them about what’s going on in Frankfort.
The group does not typically take a position on legislation. Instead, their three registered lobbyists attend committee meetings, follow the legislative process and send a weekly email to members encouraging them to contact their lawmakers and voice their opinion. They have a policy of not endorsing political candidates.
In general, KAPE has positioned itself as an antidote to KEA, which has been active in their opposition to charter schools and has a related political action committee that endorses and contributes to legislative candidates of both parties, though it usually selects Democrats. KAPE has made a point of taking no position on charter schools.
KAPE’s website also contains several statements denouncing unions (the KEA calls itself an association rather than a union, since its members do not have bargaining power).
House said several of KAPE’s members joined because they’re tired of paying union dues to KEA. When asked whether the group was anti-union, House said “I believe the union needs to reevaluate its tactics.”
The group has even made a video starring “KAPE Man,” who juxtaposes himself against “Inescapable Man,” a superhero who wears a red often associated with KEA, in order to encourage teachers to join their group.
When asked how she felt about KEA, House demurred.
“I respect all teachers,” House said. “We don’t get the respect back, but we don’t come out swinging on KEA because they’re teachers.”
Some Republican lawmakers who have been educators are members of KAPE, including Rep. Regina Huff, R-Williamsburg, and House Majority Floor Leader Bam Carney, R-Campbellsville. Both Upchurch and House said there were several more lawmakers who are members of the group, but House couldn’t name them off the top of her head.
It is not uncommon for lawmakers to be members of professional organizations and many Democrats have loudly supported the KEA for years.
House was clear that she was not involved in the drafting of HB 525. In fact, none of the groups mentioned in the bill said they were contacted by Upchurch in the drafting process and were surprised to see their organizations included.
House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, said he still expects the bill get a vote in the full House, saying it has a lot of support in the Republican caucus and that he has been approached by Democrats who support the bill.
“There are many retired teachers that would love to have a say in their retirement,” he said.
This story was originally published March 5, 2019 at 12:24 PM.
