By Marla Jones
Managing Editor
marla@southerntorch.com
RAINSVILLE, Ala.-- Mary Crosby has been affiliated with the DeKalb County School System since 1996. Crosby has worked in several areas with the school system from an alternative school teacher, managing a federal program, school counselor, and now in the Central Office.
In 1996, she joined the Alabama Education Association (AEA) because it was highly advised for the liability coverage that it provides for school employees. For over twenty-five years, she paid the dues monthly. The yearly dues for AEA are now $517.00.
In recent years, Crosby began researching what was happening at the national level of her union and noticed some concerning tendencies. Crosby stated that she was told by her local chapters
``that's just the NEA (National Education Association)...folks at
AEA feels the same way we do. This month, the National Education Association (NEA) made national news headlines for their support of Critical Race Theory (CRT). CRT is defined as a body of legal scholarship and academic movement of civil-rights scholars and activists in the United States that seeks to critically examine U.S. law as intersects with race issues and challenge mainstream American liberal approaches for racial justice.
Crosby made calls to determine if, in fact, part of her monthly dues went to NEA. If you are a member of the AEA, you are automatically enrolled in the National Education Association (NEA). Crosby decided to opt-out of the organization.
While at an educational conference on July 5, which is a holiday for the school system, Crosby posted on her personal Facebook page, a screenshot from the Fox News website, titled “Reading, Writing and Racism: Largest teachers union says critical race theory is ‘reasonable and appropriate for kids. Crosby stated on her Facebook page that she had been a member of AEA since college and that she knew that the local and state organizations are not the same as NEA but part of the dues go to the national organization. She went on to say no more and that she was really concerned about the divisive trajectory of our country.
She added that this was a personal decision for anyone to consider and that she was not campaigning to lead an exodus but it was her understanding that if you choose to opt-out of AEA/NEA it could be done by notifying the local central office payroll clerk in writing at the beginning of the school year.
In early July, Mountain Valley News, a local newspaper in Rainsville, published an online article regarding how local and state delegates voted during the NEA assembly. NEA decided at the assembly to push CRT. The article asked how the local delegates voted. Because so many Alabama delegates were being contacted, the article was removed.
On July 20, Crosby received a cease and desist letter from the AEA in her office mailbox. She also learned that Interim DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Scott Timmons had received a copy of the letter and had been asked to “inform her to stop campaigning and publishing false information.”
Crosby immediately contacted her local Uniserv Representative, Jill Sommers, and AEA General Counsel, Clint Daughtrey. As of press time, she has not received any communications from the State chapter. According to Crosby, Sommers informed her that legal representation was unavailable if she was opposing AEA.
