The Jefferson County Education Association (JCEA) today urged the school district not to use elementary students to distribute its bargaining positions to the community.

Last Friday elementary principals were directed by the administration to distribute a district-drafted article, "Clarification Regarding Teacher Negotiations." They, in turn, directed teachers to place this article in their students' Friday Folders to be taken home.

"It is totally inappropriate, highly unprofessional, and extremely short-sighted for the district to use students to communicate its rhetoric to parents. This article is not just informational, it is positional and extremely negative toward the Association," said Dexter Meyer JCEA spokesperson.

Meyer explained that normally these student folders, which are usually sent home on Fridays, are used to communicate student work, ideas about how teachers and parents can work together to improve learning, and school news.

"It is particularly hurtful and insulting to require teachers to do the actual work of stuffing the folders with an article that attacks their own Association," Meyer said. "And, several teachers reported that some intermediate students who read the material were unnecessarily disturbed and troubled by it. That is extremely unfortunate."

Meyer said JCEA is particularly upset because just last week the Association worked with the district to caution teachers to avoid inappropriate discussions that might confuse or alarm students. "Clearly we have a double standard here," Meyer said.

"The bottom line is that students should not be put in the middle of this or any negotiations dispute," Meyer said. "It's hard enough for adults to understand the complexity of these issues and nearly impossible for elementary-aged children. I just don't know what the school district was thinking."

JCEA and JPS are at a bargaining impasse. The contract expires August 31, 2007 and no further talks have been scheduled. The Jeffco impasse process is outlined in Article 5 of the Master Agreement and includes both mediation and fact-finding.

JCEA, affiliated with Colorado Education Association and the National Education Association, represents over 5,000 teachers in the Jeffco Public Schools, the state's largest school district.