POLITICS

Cook to retire as head of Vt. teachers union

April McCullum

Free Press Staff Writer

Joel Cook, executive director of the Vermont National Education Association (left), listens as Rep. Mary Morrissey, R-Bennington, and the House General, Housing and Military Affairs Committee consider a bill that would ban teachers' strikes at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Friday, April 3, 2015.

Joel Cook, the longtime head of the Vermont National Education Association, plans to retire at the end of the year.

Cook has advocated for teachers' interests since 2000 as the Vermont-NEA executive director. He joined the association in 1992 as general counsel, according to a news release.

He worked previously at Vermont Legal Aid and as director of the Vermont Office on Aging and as commissioner of the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living under Gov. Madeleine Kunin.

“Joel’s advocacy on behalf of the women and men who work in Vermont’s schools has been as unwavering as his desire to do what’s best for our state’s children," Vermont-NEA President Martha Allen said in a statement.

The Vermont-NEA is the state's largest union with about 12,000 members and a 20-person staff. The union plans to launch a search for Cook's replacement in the coming weeks.

This article was first published online Thursday, April 14, 2016. Contact April Burbank at 802-660-1863 or aburbank@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AprilBurbank