The state’s powerful WEA teachers union, headed by union president Kim Mead, is again trying to close Washington’s public charter schools.  Mead has given the union’s attorneys the go-ahead to file another lawsuit against charter school families, in a new effort to shutter the innovative public schools to some 1,600 children.  The case is WEA et al v. State of Washington, case number 16-2-18527-4, in King County Superior Court.

This is Mead’s second attempt to close charter schools.  In July 2013 WEA union executives filed a lawsuit against the voter-approved charter school law.  The case went all the way to the state supreme court, which ruled in favor of the union.   Independent research into state Public Disclosure Commission reports found that seven of the nine sitting justices had received WEA union campaign money.

Mead’s primary complaint appears to be that public employees at public charter schools are not required to pay her union as a condition of employment (charter school teachers can form or join a union voluntarily, however).  In other public schools WEA executives will have a teacher fired for not paying dues.  The exemption for charters threatens the union’s bottom line, making it harder for Mead and other top executives to maintain what The Seattle Times calls the state’s most powerful lobby operation.  (“State teachers union flexing sizable political muscle again,” by Brian Rosenthal, May 5, 2013).

The two lawsuits illuminate the union’s push to end competition from charter schools and safeguard the system of forced dues payments.  The aggressive legal action shows Mead and other union executives care first about their revenue; what happens to charter school children and families is at best a secondary concern.

Supreme court justices, rather cruelly many thought, announced just days into the school year that public charter funding was unconstitutional and that the schools would have to close immediately.  Charter school families and teachers traveled to Olympia to explain why they love and want to keep their charter schools.  Students even created a rap video asking the legislature to save their schools.  One 10-year-old girl, who would otherwise be sent to one of the worst schools in the state, said, “I just want a better education.”  A girl at Excel Public Charter School said, “I don’t see why we would want to close [charter schools] down for kids!”

Lawmakers listened.  They quickly passed a bi-partisan bill, SB 6194, that complied with the court ruling and identified an alternate source of funding.  And while Governor Inslee said he would not sign it, he agreed to let it become law without his signature.  Eight charter schools are now thriving, and three more are due to open next year.  The schools are so popular they often have waiting lists.

The need for public charter schools is growing because they are popular with parents and teachers.  This fall 1,600 children have enrolled in charter schools, a 30% increase over last year.  Two-thirds of charter school students are from low-income and minority families.  To meet growing demand, officials plan to open three more charters; in West Seattle, South Seattle and Walla Walla.  State law authorizes up to 40 charter schools over five years. 

Teachers at traditional public schools each must pay the union about $1,000 a year, shifting roughly $34 million in education funding to union bank accounts.  Forcing students and teachers out of public charter schools would be a financial windfall for the union.

Whether Kim Mead and the union can convince supreme court justices to again rule against charter school families is unclear.  The two high-profile education cases, the earlier one against charter schools and the seemingly endless McCleary process, have not turned out well for the court. 

At some point the justices may weary of advancing causes for the WEA union.  Meanwhile, the union’s financial motivation behind their latest lawsuit is clear.  If the union prevails, charter school families will again be relegated to failing schools based on zip code.  Kids don’t care about the money ambitions of adults.  All they want, as that student put it, is “to get a better education.”

I will continue to monitor the latest case against charter schools as it moves forward.

This report is part of WPC’s Charter School Follow-up Project.