Charter schools: Public or private?
Another Chicago charter claims it's a "private" school in order to stop its teachers from unionizing. The school has received $23 million in public funds since it opened in 2004. But eight months ago, a solid majority of the school's teachers voted to organize. The school's board, with backing from the charter school association and the Civic Committee decided to spend tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees in hopes of stalling off union certification.
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. --TribuneTeachers report threats by principal principal, Ali Yilmaz as well as the firing of a popular and well-respected
