Fighting for better pay and smaller Don’t be confused by our contract’s The Sustainable Community classes in charters strengthens pay scales for teachers and PSRPs. Schools pilot will bring $10 million 2019 contract campaign in District New video tackles CTU wages and to 20 schools—and grow a district- schools PAGE 2 salary history PAGE 6 wide movement PAGE 7 CHICAGOUNIONTEACHER June 2018 ⁄ Volume 81 ⁄ Number 8 Also in this issue... young Tactics to fight for proper special education staffing in our schools are artist essential in order to win the services that our students deserve awards PAGE 4 Chicago’s gang database is fraught with errors—and amounts to a life sentence without trial or parole for those Brieona Cousins, Morgan Park High School, Grade 12 who are placed in it PAGE 10 Abraham Vega, Blair Early Childhood Center, Grade 1 Isaac Lara, Solorio High School, Grade 11 CHICAGO UNION TEACHER CARROLL W. / 1901 AVENUE / CHICAGO, IL 60612 Breaking the code of silence in our schools by ending the mayor’s educational hunger games PAGE 13 Charles DeShields, Pershing Magnet School, Grade 5 Winning justice for every Chicago public school educator Fighting for better pay and smaller classes in charters strengthens 2019 contract campaign in District schools. BY CHRIS BAEHREND contract campaign and help in charter classrooms. Today, bridge the two-tier salary working in a charter is akin he Chicago Teachers divide between district and to second-class status, even Union now has 13 dif- charter schools. The goal is to though the overpaid and Tferent contracts in- undercut all employers’ abil- management-heavy charter stead of one—our CTU con- ity to pit educators against operators are flush with our tract for members who work one another or ignore the tax dollars. That’s why we’re in District schools, which need for educational equity demanding dramatic increas- expires in June 2019, and for all public school students es in salary. dents in more danger than when the majority of union- is unprecedented for over a contracts with a dozen char- in CPS-funded schools. CTU-ACTS bargaining ever before, and our mem- ized charter employers met third of CTU-ACTS mem- ter employers whose schools That’s why CTU-ACTS is teams are also asking for full bers in CTU-ACTS have de- leaders from every CTU- bers to show up at the same are funded with public dol- focusing on undercutting the staffing, especially for spe- manded sanctuary schools, ACTS negotiating team at a event, much less this early in lars through CPS. Eleven of lowball pay and sub-par class- cial education. Wouldn’t it as well as restorative justice common table. We presented a contract campaign. Clearly, those 12 charter contracts room resources in charter be great to have enforceable and culturally relevant cur- our demands for investment members are not happy with are currently being negoti- schools. Charter employers class-size limits and a teach- ricula—just as CTU mem- in our classrooms—espe- two-tier compensation, and ated or renegotiated through shortchange pay and class- ing assistant in every K-12 bers in District schools have. cially staffing, salaries, and we are going to fight to end the Charter Division of our room resources to maximize classroom? Even though CPS Every classroom in Chicago resources —and we presented it—then fight to raise pay newly federated union—and the dollars they can siphon can to refuse to bargain these should serve as a safe, sup- CPS data showing that char- and benefits standards for we kicked off that campaign off from all of our schools issues in District-run schools portive, student-centered ter operators can afford our EVERY member in Chicago. last month with a rally that to bankroll needless layers under current state law, a win environment, and now every proposals. Together, we all rise. drew hundreds! of management salaries and for CTU-ACTS this year will unionized teacher in Chicago More than 400 CTU- We’re negotiating these costly ‘management’ fees. ratchet up political pressure is fighting together for racial, ACTS members rallied on High school teacher Chris contracts simultaneously The state’s new funding on CPS to negotiate these economic, and social justice May 8 at CPS headquarters Baehrend is CTU-ACTS Division by design. Better contracts formula gives charter em- critical issues in District-run for our students and our city. with CTU-District mem- Chair and was president of the at charters can serve as a ployers more per-pupil fund- schools. Our 2018 CTU-ACTS bers, students, parents and Chicago Alliance of Charter stepping stone to even big- ing than district schools, yet Trump and Sessions are contract campaign got off allies—all united to demand Teachers and Staff until our ger wins in the 2019 CTU that money is not being spent putting our immigrant stu- to a flying start on April 30, equity and fair contracts. It unions’ merger this spring. Charter school operators fail to prioritize students and school staff in budgets BY PAVLYN JANKOV Charter operators say that despite be- ing funded above and beyond what district ast year charter operators got a gift schools get and finding numerous ways to from the state legislature when the spend more on management, they can’t of- Lfunding formula for charter schools fer their educators and staff the level of pay was changed from the Student Based Budg- and benefits that district staff earn. Instead, eting (SBB) system used by CPS to fund all some charter operators are even denying schools to a state-defined measure called they received a windfall and, led by the Il- Charter budgets are often balanced extract deep concessions. the Per Capita Tuition Charge. The formula linois Network of Charter Schools, plan to against the classroom Now unified as part of CTU, charter change resulted in a total $37 million in- continue lobbying the state for more funding District schools in CPS are no stranger school teachers and paraprofessionals are crease in revenue for charter operators for while preserving their right to spend that to the lack of accountability at the top of our exposing the truth behind charter opera- the school year ending this month. That money without accountability. school system. It was the Mayor’s un-elected tors’ management practices as well. As they works out to an additional $688 per charter What has defined the governance of school board that approved the privatization negotiate new contracts this year, CTU char- student, a roughly 8 percent increase over charter operators in Chicago is this lack of of our janitorial services, leaving our schools ter school members are calling for an end to what district schools get. accountability with regard to their spend- under-staffed and dangerously filthy. That the chaos of reckless charter expansion and However, charter educators and school ing practices. The flexibility and innova- Board also gave the green light to cutting harmful school closures, which has caused staff haven’t seen this funding increase make tions that the operators preach as their se- millions from special education services, instability, budget cuts, enrollment declines its way to their classrooms. Some charter op- cret sauce have been used as cover to offer while approving $15 million in contracts to and layoffs at both district and charter erators indicate they’ve already budgeted for scant wages to their staff. Such low wages former CEO Claypool’s consultant friends schools. They are demanding full staffing, millions in increased spending on unnamed are sustainable for the bottom line of oper- and associates who crafted the new special resources to meet the needs of special ed- budget lines and spent additional hundreds ators and their handsomely compensated education ‘guidelines’ to justify the cuts. ucation students, commensurate pay, and of thousands on consultants while increas- management, but not for the teachers and But through our collective power, CTU and fair contracts that do justice to the import- ing central office pay. One charter operator paraprofessionals struggling to meet stu- allies have shone a light on these special ed- ant work of educating Chicago’s students. spends as much on management staff with dent needs with few resources, which is why ucation cuts, clawed back funding for our the word “Chief” in their job title as they do charter schools continue to suffer from high classrooms, and secured pay increases de- Pavlyn Jankov is a CTU education policy on all special education staff. teacher turnover rates. spite Rahm’s use of budget crises to try to analyst. 2 June 2018 ∕ Chicago Union Teacher CHICAGO UNION TEACHER EDITOR ∕ Ronnie Reese We lead ASSOCIATE EDITOR ∕ Christine Geovanis CONTRIBUTING WRITERS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS ∕ Rebecca Arelli, Chris Baehrend, Eurydice Bevly, Gina Caneva, Jonathan Charnes, to win Peter Cole, Heather M. Duncan, Pavlyn Jankov, Jen Johnson, John Kugler, Karen Lewis, Lillian Osborne, Andrea Parker, Debby Pope, Helen Ramirez-Odell, Sarah Rothschild, Sarah-Ji, Bessie Tsitsopoulos, Kassandra Tsitsopoulos, Paula Wyatt Sisters and Brothers, we’re working to convene an independent I know we’re all working our tails off as task force of parents, students, allies, CTU ADVERTISING MANAGER ∕ April Stigger the school year comes to an end. I wish you educators and clinicians, union officials, the very best of summers, filled with peace, CPS staff, and advocacy groups. Our goals DESIGN AND PRODUCTION ∕ Eric Ruder rest and rejuvenation. are simple: to make sure our students are As we went to press with the June 2018 heard, their safety is protected, our mem- CUT, we were waiting for the Janus de- bers’ due process rights are respected, and cision to drop—a roundhouse assault on best practices are in place to protect our OFFICERS the Karen GJ Lewis, NBCT ∕ PRESIDENT public-sector unions, particularly teach- school communities.