Group Sues Philadelphia School District, Union Over "Ghost Teachers"
By Mike DeNardo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A group is suing the Philadelphia School District and its teachers union over the longstanding practice of teachers doing union work to remain on the district's books.
The suit by the conservative Fairness Center says the teachers contract allows as many as 63 so-called "ghost teachers" to do union work while being paid by the district.
"The Pennsylvania constitution and general legal principles require that public funds may only be used for public purposes, which they're not, here," says Nate Bohlander, the center's assistant general counsel. "They're being used for a purely private purpose."
Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan says the union covers the full cost.
"The district is reimbursed 100-percent for salaries," he says, "and benefits while we are on leave."
Jordan calls the lawsuit a "nuisance suit." He says he believes the group singled out the PFT because of the union's political activity.
"[Their] goal is to try to eliminate unions from really being as active the political arena," Jordan says.
A district spokesman says the district incurs no cost from the practice, because the union reimburses the district.
