Union Head’s Latest Media Tall Tale: Teachers Get No Time For Conferences

Steve Cook, the head of Michigan’s largest teachers union, says many things in the media that aren’t true.

In one recent example, the Michigan Education Association president wrote a column published by The Detroit News in which he claimed that teachers aren’t given time to attend professional conferences.

“During the school year, there isn’t time for teachers to take days out of the classroom to attend conferences and collaborate with other educators,” Cook wrote.

ForTheRecord says: In 2016-17 teachers at the Lansing School District (Cook’s putative employer for purposes of a pension-spiking scheme) missed a total of 746.57 days of class because they were attending industry conferences and workshops held during the school year. The information is contained in records provided by the district.

Given a 180-day school year, it’s as if the Lansing district hired and paid four full-time teachers to never teach a class but only attend conferences and workshops on almost every school day.