Lawmaker criticizes teachers’ plans, suggests possible suit
Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, railed against the planned teachers’ walkout on social media Tuesday, and said she was consulting with a lawyer for a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Arizonans affected by the school closures.
The lawsuit comment came after an email exchange with a Mesa constituent in which Townsend suggested cutting a host of social-
welfare programs to pay for a teacher raise.
Meanwhile, the governor met with lawmakers of both parties on Tuesday in an attempt to rally support for his plan to raise teacher pay 20 percent by the years 2020. No bill has yet been introduced with teachers scheduled to walk off the job on Thursday.
Mesa resident Tony Mathews wrote to Townsend on Friday asking her to help find money in the state budget to support teacher raises. He mentioned his and his wife’s two daughters at Augusta Ranch Elementary School, and how the teachers need substantial assistance from parents to provide school supplies.
Mathews suggested increasing taxes on gasoline, alcohol, tobacco or property and sales taxes.
“I have faith you can work the next few days to find a way that funds education so there is no walkout,” Mathews wrote. “But if there is a walk out (sic), I do support the teachers!!”
Townsend, who is in leadership as the House majority whip, responded. Mathews’ wife, who is a Mesa publicschool teacher, posted the exchange on Facebook on Monday night.
“I’m sure we can take it from the correctional officers (sic) pay who make minimum wage in some cases, release some of the prison population, take it from the developmentally disabled and close adult homes from (sic) the disabled, freeze Alzheimer’s research, take it from Veteran’s services, dental services for the underserved, desperately needed road funds, the university funding, and put another freeze on Kids Care health insurance, “Townsend wrote. “We’ll find it somehow.”
The Facebook post had been shared about 1,600 times by Tuesday afternoon. Many of the 370 plus comments were negative against the lawmaker, though some were critical of teachers.
Townsend acknowledged the firestorm her comments ignited Tuesday.
“You’ve seen all the hate mail I’m getting,” she said. “The entire state is in an uproar over this.”
She said she supports giving teachers raises, and is not a “hard no” on the governor’s plan, but she wants to take more time to figure the issue out.
“I just don’t think we should fast track something like this,” she said. “I also don’t like promising a 20 percent raise to teachers if the funding source is dependent on the economy.”
She suggested negotiations could continue for a while.
“We have until June 30th to have a budget in place,” she said. “Forcing it by Thursday is not the way to go.”
Mathews said initially he thought the response was sarcastic, but Townsend said it was not.
“I was pretty floored by my entire interaction with her,” Mathews said Tuesday.
He said he has never reached out to lawmakers before, and only did so out of a concern for his daughters’ education and what he said was a dire need of more staff at public schools to reduce class sizes.
“I’m not a political person,” he said. Townsend took also to Twitter on Tuesday to ask teachers who have felt intimidated into participating in the walkout to contact her to register their opposition. She said she has heard from 31 teachers via Facebook, Twitter and email.
Later, Townsend said she was speaking with a lawyer regarding a possible class-action lawsuit.
Townsend suggested the lawsuit should benefit anyone “impacted by the extended school year or other harm that comes to them by the teacher walkout.” She asked people who will be affected to contact her.
Those affected by a walkout likely would include some of Townsend’s family members. They have purchased airline tickets to Phoenix in anticipation of her son’s high-school graduation, which may be delayed by the walkout, she said.
Townsend said attorneys will have to decide who the defendants are in such an action. She said those affected could be students who plan to start jobs after graduation, or go on a mission after school ends.