GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

The city and the teachers union are back in court this afternoon to argue over the fates of 24 so-called turnaround schools.

Late last month, an arbitrator found that the city’s hiring and firing decisions at the schools — key aspects of the Department of Education’s turnaround plans — violated the city’s contract with the teachers union. With just weeks to go before the school year starts, the city is rolling back those plans and telling teachers and administrators who had been cut loose how to reclaim their positions, in accordance with the arbitrator’s remedy.

But the city doesn’t want to give up the chance at using the turnaround model. So it is still arguing that the arbitrator overstepped his bounds and asking the State Supreme Court to overturn his decision.

Two weeks ago, Judge Joan Lobis rejected the city’s request to be allowed to continue rehiring and replacing teachers at the schools while she considers the appeal. At the time, Lobis signaled that she did not think the city would be likely to win the case in the end.

That’s what a city attorney who specializes in labor relations also told GothamSchools before the first hearing with Lobis. (more…)