ECOT revokes edict that staff attend rally

After ECOT employees expressed alarm to The Dispatch that the school administration was forcing them to attend a Statehouse rally set for Tuesday, the state’s largest charter school altered course Friday.

School officials sent a memo to staffers saying that attendance at the rally is now voluntary.

“I wanted to also reiterate that the rally is a voluntary event and no repercussions have or will ever be taken against an employee if they choose to not attend,” ECOT Board President Andrew Brush wrote after The Dispatch story. “On behalf of the board, I apologize for any communication that has stated otherwise.”

Rick Teeters, superintendent of the online Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, had sent emails to employees saying they must attend a Statehouse demonstration and march to the nearby headquarters of the Ohio Department of Education.

A few of those employees contacted The Dispatch to express frustration with the edict, both because it was taking them out of the classroom on a school day, and because it was forcing them to attend a political rally that they didn’t necessarily want to attend. They feared for their jobs if they did not sign up to go.

On April 7, Teeters wrote to employees: “We require the attendance of ALL ECOT employees so we can show our state legislators the impact that we all have on education.”

On April 19, he wrote: “Because of its importance to our future, we are requiring you to attend the May 9th Rally for ECOT at The Statehouse.”

Brush wrote Friday that Teeters’ edict was written “in the heat of our ongoing efforts to keep ECOT serving our families.”