Teachers at the only unionized charter school in Washington, D.C., say the charter network is closing the school as retaliation against their unionization efforts.
The Washington Post reports the teachers filed a complaint Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board about the planned closure of Chavez Prep Middle in Columbia Heights. Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools in January announced the middle school would close at the end of the school year due to declining enrollment.
The charter network says the school's closure is due to a projected $5 million budget shortfall next year across its four campuses. It says another middle school will close in 2020 due to low performance and two high schools will be merged.
The labor board has three other open union complaints against the network.
