Charter schools asserts it isn't public

Whether you like it or not, things are looking up for the unionization push at the Cambridge Lakes Charter School.

Teachers at the Pingree Grove school have scored two victories so far in their effort to form a union.

But the company that manages Cambridge Lakes, the Northern Kane Educational Corp., is expected to exhaust its appeals.

The written decision of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board sheds some light on Northern Kane's legal reasoning.

According to the decision, one of Northern Kane's central arguments is that the charter school should not be governed by laws that apply to public schools because Cambridge Lakes is not a public school.

The argument is central to Northern Kane's case because if the charter school is not public, the law under which teachers are trying to unionize, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, would not apply to Cambridge Lakes.

As I reported earlier this month, the labor relations board rejected this argument, thereby allowing the union's majority interest petition to go forward.

The petition is a fairly straightforward way to form a union - getting a majority of employees to sign union cards and bypassing a union election.

Northern Kane's argument is interesting because of its potential to set precedent and because it is reminiscent of some bold claims Northern Kane's executive director made about the school earlier this year.

Back when he deigned to speak to the press, Northern Kane Executive Director Larry Fuhrer said of his company, "It's a private corporation. We're not accountable to the public for private transactions."

The labor board's decision shows Fuhrer and his lawyers continue to make this argument despite clear evidence to the contrary:

• The charter school receives state and federal funding from Community Unit District 300 for its daily operations.

• District 300 has stated clearly it considers the charter school "a public (not private) school."

• The private loan that paid for the charter school building is being repaid with taxpayer dollars.

• The Illinois School Code says "a charter school shall be a public, nonsectarian, nonreligious, non-home-based and nonprofit school."

• The executive director of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools has written, "Charters are most certainly public schools, serving only public school students."

• The Illinois Charter Schools Law states charter schools operate "within the public school system."

• The sponsor of the Charter Schools Law stated, "There is no intent in this legislation to deny charter school employees from having the labor law or collective bargaining right enjoyed by their fellow, fellow school employees."

I doubt all of this evidence will deter Northern Kane from continuing to assert Cambridge Lakes is a private school.

But what it probably means is a hefty legal bill for Northern Kane. It costs a lot of money to hire lawyers who can argue against such damning evidence.