The federal lawsuit filed on Wednesday and
announced on Thursday is the latest battle with the city since teachers staged a
week-long strike in September. It alleges that more than half of the tenured teachers fired
in the most recent round of school closings and turnarounds were
African American.
But blacks make up less than 30 percent of
the tenured teaching staff in the district and 35 percent of the tenured teacher
population in the failing schools, the lawsuit claims.
The suit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Illinois seeks an immediate moratorium on any additional school closings
in the city.
The school district declined to comment on
the lawsuit while it is pending, but said, "We have an obligation to expand high
quality school options to all families and children in every neighborhood and
turnarounds is just one tool that allows us to provide those options."
Emanuel, a former top White House adviser
to President Barack
Obama, and the school district are expected to close more schools in the
coming years because of declining enrollment and a huge budget deficit.
The district's enrollment has fallen nearly 20 percent in the last decade, mainly because of population declines in poor neighborhoods. The district said it can accommodate 500,000 students, but only about 400,000 are enrolled. About 140 schools are half empty, according to the district.
The union argues that while the school
district is closing existing neighborhood schools, primarily in minority
neighborhoods, it is simultaneously approving new, mostly nonunion charter
schools.
This fall, public teachers in Chicago staged the
first strike against the district in 25 years to protest reforms supported by
Emanuel, including teacher evaluations. The teachers were given a pay raise as
part of the strike settlement.
The case, filed on behalf of three fired
teachers, is Chicago Teachers Union, Terri Fells, Lillian Edmonds and Josephine
Hamilton Perry v. Board of Education of the City of Chicago 12-cv-10338.
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