LA teachers' union fights charters' space demands

This article is directly relevant to SFUSD because of the controversies over charters' needs for space disrupting SFUSD school communities. With similar controversies erupting in LAUSD, the teachers' union there is fighting back.

Note: The conservative Los Angeles Daily News' editorial position is vigorously pro-charter, and in my opinion that is often reflected in its news coverage:

Los Angeles Daily News
4/16/08

L.A. teachers union targets pact on charters
By Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer

Launching a pitched battle against Los Angeles Unified over plans to dole out more space for the growing charter-school movement, the teachers union said Wednesday that it will aggressively campaign against traditional schools sharing sites with the popular independent schools.

Demonstrations by parents and teachers and community meetings have already begun, just days after the district offered space to more than three dozen charter schools - the most so far - as part of a settlement of a lawsuit challenging the LAUSD's lagging efforts to share its facilities under Proposition 39.

But some schools and teachers said the plans are too disruptive because they include mixing some elementary and secondary students and allocating classrooms that already are in use.

"This has to do with a bad law, and instead of the district fighting this they chose to make a settlement that will impact the educational programs at the host schools by taking away precious space," said A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.

"And having a high school or middle school on an elementary campus is total madness and a very serious potential security and safety situation for students."

Changing the law

In addition to rallying parents, teachers and community-based organizations, Duffy said, the union will begin talking with legislators about changing the charter law.
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