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A New York City teachers union is being accused of hypocrisy after approving the expansion of a charter school founded by Randi Weingarten.
The NYC Panel For Educational Policy voted 22-0 to co-locate University Prep Middle School, a charter co-founded by Weingarten. The Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) consists of 23 voting members.
The vote came after the United Federation of Teachers [UFT], which Weingarten previously worked for, had not spoken out against it, despite having previously sued other charter schools for sharing space with public school sites.
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UFT’s lawsuit cited the current state cap on class size to try to invalidate the co-location of two Success Academy charter schools at public school buildings in Queens and Brooklyn.
PITTSBURGH - JULY 13: American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten speaks to the audience at the annual convention of the American Federation of Teachers Friday, July 13, 2018 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
The Panel for Education Policy last year approved the expansion of the Success Academy charter schools run by CEO Eva Moskowitz. Success Academy is the city’s largest charter school network with 49 schools and 20,000 students. Success Academy teachers are not represented by the UFT.
As Success Academy was approved to co-locate with other public schools, UFT pushed back with a lawsuit, arguing that the measure was approved "without providing an in-depth analysis of how these co-locations would affect the students already in those public schools."
"The DOE has misled parents, the public, and the PEP itself regarding the actual impacts of its proposed co-locations, including both schools’ ability to comply with impending requirements of the new Class Size Law," the lawsuit reads.
UFT’s lawsuit claims that the NYC Panel "violated state education law and its own regulations when it sought to co-locate two Success Academy charter schools into Queens and Brooklyn public schools without providing an in-depth analysis of how these co-locations would affect the students already in those public schools."
An empty classroom with the chairs up. (Peter Kneffel/picture alliance )
Furthermore, UFT’s lawsuit argues that Success Academy is trying to circumvent the current state-mandated cap by drawing students from two existing charter schools and casting itself as an expansion.
However, UFT had reportedly little to say about PEP approving the co-location of University Prep Middle School in public schools in the South Bronx.
"While the UFT often gripes that such moves deprive classroom footage from students and staff in traditional unionized public schools, not a peep was heard from union brass about the University Prep plan, though a union rep from the Rapport School raised objections," according to the New York Post.
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Moskowitz told The Post on Sunday, "This blatant hypocrisy shows that the UFT’s opposition to letting charter schools use underutilized school buildings has always been about protecting its schools from competition, not a sincere concern for children."
Image of an empty classroom from a hallway. (iStock)
Weingarten is a member of University Prep’s governing board and its teachers are represented by the UFT. Another member of the governing board is a former top UFT official, Burton Sacks.
The UFT did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.