Fairness group files lawsuit over ‘ghost teachers’

GHOST BUSTERS: ‘Ghost teachers’ are earning publicly funded salaries and benefits, while working for a teachers’ union.

By Jana Benscoter | Watchdog Arena

A provision in a collective bargaining agreement between Philadelphia School District and Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is under fire. The Fairness Center, based in Harrisburg, has filed a lawsuit against both the district and the teachers’ union.

The Fairness Center complaint  alleges that the school district has permitted the union to use its public school employees, including teachers, on school time. Attorneys representing the case say the union is taking employees out of district schools at a time of staff shortages and budget strain allowing them to work full-time for the union.