New Memphis college board member nonetheless leads academics union

The chair of the Memphis Shelby County Faculties board needs newly elected member Keith Williams to relinquish his publish as head of the district’s greatest instructor’s union, warning that his roles on each our bodies pose a possible battle of curiosity.

Williams, an educator for over 40 years, gained election to a four-year time period on the college board final month in a six-way race to characterize District 6, which spans South Memphis, Riverside, Westwood, and Whitehaven. However one week after his swearing-in, he stays government director of the Memphis-Shelby County Schooling Affiliation, in keeping with the union’s web site and a biography that seems on the MSCS web site.

Board Chair Michelle McKissack referred to as Williams “a terrific voice for the academics group” over time, however mentioned Friday that she believes Williams ought to step down from the union place, saying it could be extraordinarily difficult to stop a battle of curiosity.

“As a faculty board member, he now has to make use of that voice for all academics, all college students, and all households,” McKissack mentioned. “Every little thing we do touches upon academics and impacts them. … It’s positively a tightrope it’s important to stroll and be cognizant of.”

Williams didn’t reply to Chalkbeat’s a number of interview requests.

Board coverage requires newly elected board members to relinquish any employment inside the district, nevertheless it doesn’t expressly prohibit members from working for or being concerned with academics unions.

The board’s code of conduct, nevertheless, states members should “characterize the pursuits of the residents of all the college district. The code, established in 2011, additionally says that accountability to all the district should supersede any conflicting loyalties a member has, whether or not to advocacy or curiosity teams, as members of different boards or staffs, or private pursuits a member could have as a district dad or mum or the relative of a district worker.

And the board’s code of ethics, issued in 2010, says members ought to disclose “any private curiosity that impacts, or that may lead an affordable individual to deduce that it impacts, the official’s or worker’s vote on the measure” earlier than such a vote takes place.

MSCS board insurance policies largely observe these outlined by the Tennessee Faculty Board Affiliation’s candidate information, which says such board member disclosures must be detailed and made public.

Williams, a widely known union chief and schooling advocate within the metropolis, handily gained election in final month’s contest with 42% of the vote. He beat out 5 different candidates, together with Charles Everett, whom the Shelby County Fee had appointed to the District 6 seat as a substitute for Shante Avant.

Williams, a local Memphian, started his educating profession in Knoxville in 1974. In 2005, after retiring from educating in Memphis Metropolis Faculties, he was elected to the board of administrators of the Memphis Schooling Affiliation, and in 2011, he was elected president of the union. As the chief director of the newly merged Memphis-Shelby County Schooling Affiliation, Williams represents over 3,000 members throughout the county, in keeping with his biography.

The three different board members sworn in final week have been newcomer Amber Huett-Garcia, who represents District 8, and incumbents McKissack and Joyce Dorse-Coleman, who characterize Districts 1 and 9, respectively.

Samantha West is a reporter for Chalkbeat Tennessee, the place she covers Okay-12 schooling in Memphis. Join with Samantha at swest@chalkbeat.org.