By Associated Press
Nashville, TN – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam says statements by a state teachers' group official doesn't match what a state Department of Education survey found about morale. Haslam says the assertion by the Tennessee Education Association that teachers feel totally demoralized and disrespected by passage of a bill that limits collective bargaining by teachers runs counter to the study. But Tennessee Education Association lobbyist Jerry Winters says the study didn't measure broad teacher satisfaction. The study was co-sponsored by TEA, and Winters says it measured teachers' attitudes toward how their individual schools were governed. But Winters says no questions were asked about the union-busting legislation, and that he would argue it has pummeled teacher morale. Haslam says the study didn't show a serious morale issue at all.