An administrator at the school told me that even though it was mediocre academically, it had a long waiting list because it was safe, unlike district schools. If charter schools were allowed to grow, he said, they would shut down the district.
The local teachers' union thought so, too. It formed an alliance with Edison against charters and other alternatives. The company and the union saw monopoly as a good thing, as long as it was theirs. But as PBS's John Merrow reported, once that mission was accomplished, the union did little to cooperate with Edison, and it played a role in the firm's failure.
So now Chester Upland has run out of money. The New York Times and National Public Radio have spun the story as one of heartless budget cuts and privatization, with charter schools - chiefly Chester Community Charter, run by businessman Vahan Gureghian - threatening to shut down a public school district.
If that happens, some good public servants will lose their jobs, and I feel for them. Chester is a tough town; I've met educators who succeeded elsewhere but, even by their own admission, failed in Chester.
The pain of public servants is a legitimate story, but it is only one side of the story. The other side is that of parents and kids. Chester's schools have been among the worst in the state for decades, and district officials showed little inclination to do much about it as long as the paychecks kept coming.
