HUTTO — A Hutto Independent School District group advocating on behalf of teachers and a quality education for pupils is breathing new life into a local chapter of the Texas State Teachers Association.
Led by Farley Middle School orchestra teacher Franchesca Mejia, the Hutto Education Association was officially rechartered into the state association in October.
TSTA, established in 1880, is the Texas affiliate of the National Education Association, which champions the rights of teachers and students.
“We advocate for policies, including increased state funding, that we believe will improve public schools and will improve opportunities in all the schools, rich or poor,” TSTA spokesman Clay Robison said.
Hutto ISD previously had a chartered association before the COVID-19 pandemic, but it went inactive when its leadership left the school district, and Hutto teachers didn’t feel a need for the organization, educators said.
Mejia, HEA president, initially tried to restart the Hutto association in 2021, but the movement didn’t gain traction. She renewed her efforts when Raul Pena stepped down from the superintendent position in April after seven months on the job.
“He brought in a lot of new people, and since then, it’s kind of gotten really rocky,” Mejia said. “I think a lot more people are like, ‘OK, we need to start organizing around some of the issues that are going on.’ … A lot of people are feeling the pain of new district leadership and maybe some miscommunications in (the) district and how it affects the teachers.”
Trustees named Jeni Neatherlin to the superintendent slot in August. To help with the transition in leadership, district officials said she met with staff at each campus and is available for one-on-one meetings with employees.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to fill the need for a superintendent here in Hutto,” Neatherlin said in an email to the Press. “Keeping an open door to communication for staff is essential, and we will work with our teachers to create the environment where they can do their best work.”
Mejia’s goal with the association is to ensure teachers’ rights are respected to prevent educators from leaving the school district due to adverse working conditions, especially during a staff shortage.
“A big reason why I work so hard in the (advocacy) space is because I really believe in Hutto. … It has beautiful potential,” she said. “Whenever I have leadership question my agenda or ambition in the (association), I remind them I just want these teachers to stay here, and I want (leadership) to keep (their) job. I don’t want teachers to leave Hutto.”
However, HEA can’t work independently, officials said — it is a collaborative effort with district leadership.
“(District leadership) seem very supportive of the (association),” said Jill North, HEA treasurer and seventh-grade math teacher at Gus Almquist Middle School. “They’re very open to allowing me to provide … general information from TSTA. I’ve never really felt pushback, and I think that’s kind of just great … because it feels like a really healthy relationship. I’m just reminded that all of the administrators within education at some point were teachers as well.”
The umbrella association — based in Austin — provides district leaders across Texas with reminders of rules to ensure educators are not marginalized, such as having 450 minutes — or 7.5 hours — of unstructured preparation time every two weeks and 30 minutes of duty-free lunch, as outlined in Texas Education Code sections 21.404 and 21.405, respectively.
Educators say these two rules are often not honored to make up for the lack of personnel in schools.
“It’s the biggest issue that keeps happening in all the districts. … I call them the golden rules,” Mejia said. “There’s not enough staff to complete all the things required to run a public school efficiently.”
A short-term goal of HEA is to increase membership, hoping to reach those already involved with TSTA and new teachers who may not know of its existence.
“It’s a very positive group to have within our district, and hopefully it can bring about some changes,” North said. “Hopefully, it can also just give some clarity to newer teachers as they’re struggling with a position or a job that is very overwhelming and can be stressful.”
Mejia and North began their teaching careers unaware of TSTA and ways to fight for their rights. During her second year at Pflugerville Independent School District, where she started her career in 2012, Mejia came across TSTA and spread the news to her colleagues, including North.
The two increasingly became involved with the association, both locally in Pflugerville and at the state level, eventually bringing their knowledge to Hutto ISD.
“There’s so much education with TSTA that I just wish teachers knew,” Mejia said. “I didn’t realize how much I didn’t know as an educator for years that I should know. They prep teachers to go into the class and just teach. You don’t get told a lot of things, like, ‘Hey, this is the law … and you can advocate for these things.’”
