School union leader wasn't asked back

A union leader who resigned his teaching post at the Cambridge Lakes Charter School said this week he wasn't exactly fired -- but he wasn't asked to stay, either.

Tom Wermers, a fourth-grade teacher at the charter school in Pingree Grove who has been instrumental in teachers' efforts to form a union, resigned earlier this month.

At the time, officials with the Northern Kane Educational Corp., the nonprofit organization that runs the charter school, said Wermers left of his own volition.

Asked if Wermers' resignation was voluntary, Northern Kane Executive Director Larry Fuhrer said, "That's what a resignation is."

But Wermers says charter school officials told him they were not renewing his contract for next year.

"They did tell me that they were not going to retain me in the coming school year," Wermers said Monday.

School officials did not ask Wermers to resign but said they'd waive a $1,500 early termination fee if Wermers left before his contract ended, the former teacher said.

At this and other meetings with school officials, Wermers said he felt "belittled and mocked and intimidated and threatened" because of his involvement in union activities.

Wermers, a 51-year-old former businessman, said that instead of continuing to work in a hostile environment, he decided to leave.

"I did not quit for any reason other than the intimidation and mistreatment," Wermers said. "I would still be teaching if I felt I could stay there."

School officials told Wermers they weren't renewing his contract because he didn't provide a written report of an October meeting, Wermers said.

Officials also cited the fact that Wermers hadn't rotated classrooms with his fellow fourth-grade teachers, although Principal Karen Behrns told the teachers they didn't have to, Wermers said.

"The reason they gave for getting rid of me was basically a ridiculous, trumped-up thing," Wermers said.

Charter school officials did not return calls seeking comment. The school's administrators are off this week for spring break.

Wermers said he's moving on with his life, interviewing for jobs and trying to put the charter school behind him.

"This was my dream, but unfortunately, it turned into a nightmare," Wermers said.