JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For years, the President of Duval Teachers United pushed for raises for educators in Jacksonville.
As head of the teachers union, which has about 6,500 members and represents about 80% of eligible Duval County Public School employees, Terrie Brady, 69, was involved in district negotiations with the goal of getting more money for teachers.
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But according to an indictment released on Monday, at the same time Brady was pushing for higher teacher pay, she was also stealing from the very same teachers she represented.
MORE|Former president, VP of Duval teachers union indicted, accused of stealing more than $2M from union
Brady, along with former DTU Vice President Ruby George, 81, have been accused of conspiring to steal more than $1.2 million each from DTU between 2013 and 2022.
Investigators said they got the money by selling back leave time they had not accrued or earned back to the teachers' union.
The indictment said the two withheld the activity from the DTU’s auditors by signing each other’s checks, hid the payments from the DTU’s Secretary/Treasurer, and withheld the funds from Florida’s Public Employee Relations Committee (PERC) in required yearly financial statements.
Both retired in 2023 after the DTU headquarters was raided. Brady had been the president since 1999.
RELATED: Longtime Duval teachers union president retires in wake of FBI, IRS investigation
So, we want to know: Were you a dues-paying member of the DTU between 2013 and 2022? If so, what is your reaction to the indictments?
News4JAX has already received plenty of responses from people who paid their dues and are now wondering how the accusations will be handled.
“Yes, this is disheartening to hear. Terrie Brady was an amazing advocate for the teachers of DCPS. She fought for what we deserve and what is right,” one submission read.
“Yes. I worked for DCPS and was a Union member from 2004-2023 when I left to stay home with my baby. I would like to know if any of my time was affected?” wrote News4JAX reader Katie Stone.
“As a lifelong member of DTU, I would have approved of paying them the amount as a bonus if they would’ve gone through the process to procure transparently,” wrote another reader named Larry Silva.
“Yes, I was and still am. I am hoping that this indictment does not damage DTU, members do not leave the Union, and that DeSantis and the GOP do not use this as a ‘shining’ example to further their efforts to dismantle educational Unions,” wrote another reader.
Let us know your thoughts by filling out the form below.