APS charter plan violates rights, teachers say in suit

They say jobs were lost without due process, parent input excluded.

A prominent teachers group is headed to court Thursday in an effort to stop the Atlanta school system’s ongoing effort to outsource the operations of low-performing schools to charter school groups.

The Georgia Association of Educators recently filed a lawsuit against Atlanta Public Schools, arguing the district’s plan resulted in several dozen teachers losing their jobs earlier this year without due process and didn’t give parents an opportunity to weigh in on the changes.

Both sides are scheduled to present their arguments before Fulton County Superior Court Judge Gail Tusan. Her decision is expected early next year, GAE officials said.

“The rights of the employees were violated here,” said GAE executive director Chris Baumann. “We think (APS) got ahead of the voters as well.”

APS called the lawsuit “baseless,” saying its plan is permitted under state law and it received approval from the state’s Board of Education to structure its charter system work for such purposes.

“School districts enjoy broad discretion to utilize external vendors to provide school services, management and operations through contractual relationships,” the district said in an one-page statement. “School districts across the state of Georgia frequently contract with external vendors to provide comprehensive management and operational services such as district alternative schools.”

Atlanta hired two local charter school operators, Kindezi and Purpose Built Schools, earlier this year to run five low-performing schools.

The intent was for the schools “to create the operational conditions” of charter schools, according to the sales pitch from one of the operators. It was part of a larger plan to improve Atlanta schools, which also included closing some schools and spending millions to improve others. The GAE contends it was an attempt to avoid the state taking over the schools under Gov. Nathan Deal’s proposed Opportunity School District, which failed in a voter referendum last month.

School district officials earlier this year instructed the charter groups Atlanta would hire not to respond to interview requests from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, officials with the groups said. The district refused to release the groups’ full written responses to its solicitation for the turnaround project, and it refused to release responses from all 27 groups who applied.

Purpose Built Schools, a nonprofit affiliated with Atlanta’s Drew Charter School, took over Thomasville Heights Elementary School this year and will take over three other schools — Slater Elementary, Price Middle and Carver High — in the coming years. Kindezi is preparing to run Gideons Elementary School starting next school year.

Dozens of Thomasville employees lost their jobs in the transition. Some were hired by Purpose Built and are now employees of the nonprofit; others found new positions at other Atlanta schools.

The GAE is worried about the employment status of about 245 educators.

“On information and belief, APS intends to abolish all positions, and terminate the employment of all staff, at Slater Elementary School, Price Middle School, Carver Comprehensive High School, and Gideons Elementary School in the next two years,” it wrote in its complaint.

APS said it wouldn’t terminate any employees arbitrarily.