ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown Education Association President Leslie Franklin is ringing the alarm about working conditions teachers face in the Allentown School District under Superintendent Carol Birks.
“We hear the educational jargon being used, promises being made and the glamor being touted, yet for the last few years, we have lost so many of our faculty members in our district buildings due to a disconnect in expectations,” Franklin said at Thursday’s school board meeting.
The union president highlighted a number of teacher concerns, including a lack of basic classroom and building supplies, like pencils and toilet paper.
Birks said during the meeting that she did not know about such concerns until Franklin’s public comments. She said the issues will be addressed by her staff.
Franklin's comments prompted some school directors to call for an investigation into how employee complaints are handled in the district.
“As board members, it is our responsibility to ensure that we are governing correctly, and the only person that we oversee is the superintendent,” School Director LaTarsha Brown said. “What I need to know is if the information is getting to our superintendent.”
The struggle for supplies
Franklin said school buildings don’t have enough paper, crayons, soap, hand sanitizer or tissues.
“We’re struggling to be able to provide what we need for our students,” she said.
Birks said her team regularly meets with the teachers union, but she was not made aware of these issues until Thursday. Administrative staff members who supervise school principals will be contacting them to find out more about “all of these things that are not allegedly being provided,” Birks said.
We’re struggling to be able to provide what we need for our students.Leslie Franklin, Allentown Education Association President
The superintendent said Franklin’s comments did not include necessary data about which schools need assistance or how many items are needed.
“There shouldn’t be schools that don’t have toilet paper and crayons because we have them, so I’m not sure what’s happening at the school level,” Birks said, adding that schools’ needs will be met.
Franklin told LehighValleyNews.com Friday that she has been communicating with the administration as issues arise through the designee who works with the union. Franklin also said she received an influx of teacher concerns just this week.
Additionally, Franklin said in her Thursday comments that many school copiers and printers are broken.
Dieruff High School librarian Diane Hollowell spoke earlier in the board meeting about that issue, saying the machines are constantly out of toner and replacement parts are not working.
“This is the most frustrating thing,” Hollowell said.
School building issues include leaks, as well as “non-working” bathrooms, intercoms and phone systems, Franklin said.
In the classrooms, teachers do not have enough curriculum materials after the district recently overhauled many of its instructional programs, the union president added.
“We want to ensure that our educators have what they need. We’ve invested a lot of resources,” Birks said. “I’m very shocked to hear there’s not curriculum. We spent $20 million on curriculum.”
Principal supervisors will also talk to school leaders about what curriculum materials are missing, Birks added. The district will order more resources if necessary.
Franklin also said the district struggles to give teachers and students the technology they need.
ASD has “a hard time” providing new teachers with a computer and email address when they start, she said, and most students are without chargers and headphones “to allow for successful independent work completion.”
Teachers have also been told that broken student laptops will not be repaired or replaced, “adding to the inequity concern,” Franklin said.
There were some areas that teachers felt like they needed support, and we immediately executed our team to support them.Carol Birks, Allentown superintendent
The majority of ASD employees are not comfortable in their workplace and instead “spend every day upset and frustrated,” she said.
Franklin said Birks, who joined the district in October 2022, has been given "time and patience" as she establishes her priorities for the district. But the union leader urged her to spend money on resources to benefit the whole district and not just select groups of students and teachers.
Birks said teachers are welcome to reach out to her directly with concerns. She has complaint forms they can fill out.
Additionally, she has “real talk with Dr. Birks” at school buildings, where she goes to meet with staff. Birks has been attending faculty meetings and will continue to do so, she said.
“There were some areas that teachers felt like they needed support, and we immediately executed our team to support them,” she said.
Birks will also set up time for teachers to come share concerns at the administration building with her, she said.
Calls for internal investigation
Still, some school directors expressed a desire for an internal investigation into how teacher complaints are being managed.
Earlier in the board meeting, Brown said she’s heard complaints from past and current ASD employees.
Brown also pointed to the recent equity audit and said the district needs to strengthen its diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging practices so it doesn’t open itself up to potential discrimination claims.
School Director Lisa Conover agreed with Brown’s call for an internal investigation and shared concern about district staff turnover.
“If people are leaving, we need an outlet, and we need an investigation to find out some of the things that we’re hearing,” Conover said.
Brown expressed concern about being able to get an internal investigation listed on the agenda of a future board meeting, saying the superintendent and board president control the agenda.
Board President Andrene Brown-Nowell said colleagues should put in a request for the investigation to be added to an agenda. Brown-Nowell said the item can then be considered at a future meeting if it receives support from at least five school directors to be on the agenda.
If people are leaving, we need an outlet, and we need an investigation to find out some of the things that we’re hearing.Lisa Conover, Allentown school director
The district board policy for meetings only states that agendas are prepared by “the superintendent, in cooperation with the board president,” and does not provide any further detail.
After a tense exchange between Brown-Nowell and the two directors who called for the investigation, Thursday’s meeting was adjourned while Brown was in the middle of a sentence.
When asked about the culture in ASD around workplace conditions, Birks told LehighValleyNews.com after Thursday’s meeting that people leave organizations for various reasons, but those cannot be discussed publicly in a board meeting.
She also said the district has “platforms for people to express discontent,” like Let’s Talk.
Birks said the district hasn’t received an overwhelming number of complaints about working conditions, but ASD will continue to engage staff members and strive for “an inclusive and safe environment.”
