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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Seattle Public Schools community blog: First, Some Good News

Seattle Public Schools community blog: First, Some Good News

First, Some Good News

A little of Michelle Rhee's firebreathing style got quenched yesterday when an arbitrator ruled that the first 75 teachers she fired must be hired back and given about $7.5M in back wages. Here's the story from The Washington Examiner. You'll note some familiar sounding language:

"The [termination] process used in this case was so devoid of due process as to be arbitrary and capricious," arbitrator Charles Feigenbaum said in his verdict favoring the Washington Teachers' Union, which has been fighting D.C. Public Schools officials over the July 2008 dismissals for more than two years.

Rhee had gotten rid of mostly first and second-year teachers. They had been told they couldn't appeal because they didn't have tenure but were given no reason for their dismissal.

The arbitrator, picked jointed by the union and the district, ordered the district to try to find the teachers, offer