FAIRFIELD - Ninety-three percent of local educators gave Superintendent Sharon Tucker a strong vote of "no confidence" in the recent teacher survey conducted by the Fairfield-Suisun Unified Teachers Association (F-SUTA). One year after F-SUTA members waged a 10-day strike, teachers remain very dissatisfied with the leadership of the superintendent, the survey shows.
Eighty percent of the teachers participated in the F-SUTA survey.
The teachers' survey, conducted in May, was in response to the fact that the district-designed survey failed to seek teacher input on the leadership of the superintendent and administration. These results are crucial at this time as the superintendent's evaluation will be conducted at a special school board meeting on Tuesday, June 4, that is closed to the public. The results of the district's own survey about school sites and the district's performance have yet to be released.
F-SUTA's survey results mirror the frustration and distrust felt last year when 98 percent of the teachers walked out of their classrooms during the strike.
"Morale in the district is at an all-time low with more than half of the teachers rating it 'poor' and of the remaining, about 40 percent rating it as 'only fair,'" said Liz Priest, president of the 1,300-member F-SUTA, which is a chapter of the 330,000-member California Teachers Association.
Teachers indicated they have little or no input into district decisions regarding the curriculum and ways to improve student achievement. They expressed the belief that the district continually disregards their suggestions and ideas, and implements programs that are rigid and don't allow for teacher-based creativity. More than three-fourths of those surveyed indicated they were unhappy the district failed to recognize the invaluable expertise of the teachers.
In addition, the survey revealed that 89 percent of the teachers also believe their opinion is either disregarded or not sought regarding spending priorities and school reform efforts.
There appears to be no faith in the Strategic Goals and Strategies that were instituted this year by Superintendent Tucker. These goals and strategies are Tucker's vision to improve the overall education of the children in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District.
The survey shows the depth of teacher frustration and concern about the superintendent.
The school board will discuss Tucker's evaluation at 6 p.m. Tuesday in a closed-door meeting at the district offices.