Charter school says it's private, though it gets millions in tax dollars

[Starry Messenger]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-charter-school-fight-0222-20110221,0,3420339.story

A Chicago charter school that has received more than $23 million in public money since opening in 2004 is arguing that it is a private institution, a move teachers say is designed to block them from forming a union.

In papers filed with the National Labor Relations Board, attorneys for the Chicago Math and Science Academy on the city's North Side say the school should be exempt from an Illinois law that grants employees of all public schools the right to form unions for contract negotiations.

The school of about 600 students is appealing an unfavorable decision by a regional director of the national labor board. Academy officials say charter schools don't have the governmental ties that characterize public schools, such as government-appointed leadership or controls over wages, hours and working conditions. In other words, they say, the same freedoms over personnel and policy that many credit to charter schools' success are also indicative of their independence.

<snip>

The school's teachers say the academy wants it both ways: public when it's accepting millions each year from Illinois taxpayers, but private when it wants to assert power over employees.

Who didn't see that coming?

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. None of our charters are union

And the teachers are treated like shit.

[Starry Messenger]

2. I thought it was interesting

that the school was admitting (boasting actually) the same thing we have been asserting for years here: these schools aren't public schools, just for the reasons we have named.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. Check this out

AFT just posted this article on their Facebook page.

They normally don't like us to slam charters because they have a few in NYC. So this is an interesting development.

[Starry Messenger]

10. That's where I snagged it.

:D It's very interesting. Kind of a game changer, I think too.

[mzteris]

4. Our charter IS UNION!

so there ya go...

the laws governing Charter PUBLIC schools need to be standardized across the US. The National Charter Public School association supports this.

Only SOME of the charter organizations are like this - only are VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE are like this.

Please please please understand that over 80% are LOCALLY OPERATED - and have nothing to do with these bastards who screw with the system.

The vast majority of charter public schools are good organizations.

[Dappleganger]

9. Especially the christian and catholic charter schools here in FL.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[ThomCat]

17. That is the way they want it for all charters.

sink-holes for public money, but not answerable to any public rules.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. Well, except for a few in NYC

Wouldn't want anyone to get the impression that ALL charters are non-union. :)

[Tansy_Gold]

3. Who didn't see that coming? Only those who are willfully blind.

And I think we know who they are. . . . .

:-(



TG, TT

[Starry Messenger]

7. "Charter schools are public schools"--Arne Duncan

This is his handiwork. This is a Chicago charter.

"The conflict has sparked tensions at the school, teachers said. School officials often use what teachers described as anti-union rhetoric in meetings with teachers (the school says it is not anti-union), and the school last year fired a popular and well-respected teacher who was part of the union effort, teachers said."


Sounds like a private school to me.

[SoCalDem]

11. An Emu is an Elephant

An Emu is a member of the Animal Kingdom
An Elephant is a member of the Animal Kingdom
The both start with the letter "E"

they are the same

public-private
public-charter
charter-private


no difference..except where there ARE differences.

[Starry Messenger]

14. Charter advocates have been controlling the message on this for awhile.

If a school like this breaks ranks, it could shift things.

More from the article:

"More than 80 percent of the school's annual $5 million operating budget comes from CPS, records show. The rest is made up of state and federal grant money and private fundraising. Powers argues that public funding alone is not the mark of a public institution. The more important markers, he said, are that charter schools are established by private citizens and that government has little, if any, sway over its operation.

If it were solely about using taxpayer money, Powers said, "you could make the case that any governmental contractor who gets a pretty big chunk of their business from the government is a governmental entity.""

Their own words.

[spanone]

5. privatizing schools with taxpayer money

[Tatiana]

8. If they want to be private, they need to return the millions in taxpayer funds they've received.

Administration at this school has gotten progressively worse, from what I have heard. That is why the teachers wanted to form a union.

[Starry Messenger]

12. I believe it.

I'm happy to have your perspective from the city.

As for returning the funds, Bill Gates or Eli Broad should be happy to do it, right? :sarcasm: I'm sure they'll just swoop right in like knights on horseback.

[jody]

13. "any bargaining unit of charter school employees that is formed shall be separate and distinct

from any bargaining units formed from employees of a school district in which the charter school is located."

http://mb2.ecs.org/reports/Report.aspx?id=65

[LooseWilly]

15. The new generation of "entrepreneurs"... turning to government welfare...

—errr, I mean government contracts.

;)

[Starry Messenger]

16. They were happy enough to be called public when they wanted

to establish bona fides to get taxpayer $. Now they are showing that they are truly a cuckoo in the nest.

[Starry Messenger]

19. kick.