CTU President Calls CPS Teacher Termination Announcement, Bullying Tactic
Photo By: Photo: AP/M Spencer Green
About half of the Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) teaching staff received notice on Friday they will not be allowed to follow their students to their new welcoming schools this fall which means they are out of a job.
About 545 tenured teachers and teachers with unsatisfactory ratings were notified along with teacher’s assistants, bus aides, and other part-time and seasonal workers. Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President, Karen Lewis called the move by CPS a “bully tactic” on an afternoon radio talk show.
According to CPS, the layoff process was done in accordance with the Chicago Public Schools contract reached last fall with the CTU.
Per the agreement, only tenured teachers in closing schools with excellent or superior performance ratings are eligible to follow students to welcoming schools and will be notified of availability of positions in mid-July. Those who are not permitted to follow students can reapply within the CPS system.
On average, 60 percent of teachers who lose their positions and reapply are rehired in the District according to CPS.
“I would urge everyone not to panic,” said Lewis as she spoke on a WVON Radio talk show. “This announcement is premature and administrative bullying…just a way to scare people. What they’ve done is given people at closing schools notice of possible layoffs, they don’t know where all the children are going and don’t know how many kids have signed up to go to welcoming schools and they haven’t completed their budgets so how do they know how many teachers they’re going to need? This is their effort to fulfill contractual layoff notice.”
Also according to CPS, at “turnaround schools,” nearly all current employees are relieved of their positions and new staff is hired for the start of the school year as part of an overall culture change at that given school. Full details are available in Appendix H of the CTU contract: http://www.ctunet.com/blog/text/CBA_2013_04_10.pdf.
The following groups were notified on Friday, June 14:
Closing schools:
• Non-tenured teachers, PATS (probationary appointed and temporarily assigned): 277
• Tenured teachers rated Unsatisfactory/Satisfactory: 143
• Paraprofessionals (teacher assistants): 110
• Bus aides and other positions (part-time, seasonal): 133
Turnaround schools:
• Non-tenured teachers, PATS (probationary appointed and temporarily assigned): 34
• Tenured teachers rated Unsatisfactory/Satisfactory: 91
• Paraprofessionals (teacher assistants): 20
• Clerks, custodians and security: 27
• Bus aides and other positions (part-time, seasonal): 20
CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett issued a statement saying, "Consolidating underutilized schools will give thousands of children this fall an opportunity to access a safe, higher-quality, 21st-century education with all of the investments that parents, principals, teachers and we agree children need for a bright future such as a library, safe passage, AC, access to updated technologies, science, computer and media labs, all of which will be made possible by redirecting resources from these underutilized schools as part of the process we created in partnership with the CTU in our joint contract agreement."
When asked how many children on an average will occupy a District classroom in light of the teacher terminations, CPS Deputy Press Secretary, Molly Poppe told the Chicago Citizen Newspaper that those numbers are not yet clear.
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