The Chicago Board of Education was paying attention when the CTU House of Delegates voted “no” to concessions at the August 11th special meeting. The Board did not mention concessions once during yesterday’s bargaining session with CTU’s 40-member negotiating team. The Board’s lawyers said they would cap some high school class sizes at 28 – mainly core classes such as English, math, science and social studies -- but only for the regular track schools that start September 7th.  300-400 teachers might be rehired.  

“It’s a small step in the right direction, but when dealing with the Board’s lawyers, the devil’s always in the details.  One major detail overlooked by their lawyers is that Chicago Public Schools received $100 million from the federal government to rehire at minimum 1,000 laid-off teachers.  This doesn’t come close,” said Karen Lewis, President of the Chicago Teachers Union.

“The Board needs to get to work.  They’ve made a mess and they’re going to have to clean it up.  Hiring back all of our members who were wrongfully terminated is not a matter of if, or who, but when,” said Lewis, who added that, “I hope the Board realizes that parents and students will not quietly tolerate one substitute, one placeholder, or one new hire this school year,” said Lewis.

In the meantime, if you receive a call or letter of displacement, honorable dismissal, or layoff :

• It is not official until you have received a letter from the Human Capital department of CPS. In the event you do not receive a letter confirming your displacement, you must report to your school until you receive the notice from Human Capital, even if you receive a call from your principal.
• If you do not report to your school, the CPS or your principal can discipline you after 10 missed workdays.  
• Verify your certification and endorsements. Are they up-to-date?
• Contact your field representative at the Chicago Teachers Union immediately. Their contact information is available here.
• If you do not know who your field representative is, ask the receptionist at 312.329.9100 and she will direct your call.
• Fax a copy of your termination letter to your Field Representative immediately at 312.329.6203 and ask them to file a grievance. You may be eligible for our federal lawsuit.
• Fill out the survey for Dismissed Teachers*
• If you believe that you have special circumstances with your termination, please notify your field representative in writing as soon as possible.

*PSRP survey available soon.