Teachers at embattled charter school to take union vote

Teachers at a St. Paul charter school that has faced accusations of mismanagement will take a unionization vote on Wednesday.

Officials at Education Minnesota, the state teacher's union, say staff members at the Community School of Excellence asked about organizing in February.

• More: Problems at St. Paul charter school could lead to tighter state controls

The school has been plagued by allegations of financial wrongdoing and staff turmoil in the past year. An independent investigation found that Superintendent Mo Chang had misused federally subsidized lunch funds and discouraged employees from reporting suspected cases of child abuse.

The school's authorizer, Concordia University, recently asked the school board to remove Chang, but the board refused.

School personnel have filed five charges of unfair labor action against Chang with the National Labor Relations Board. Education Minnesota also filed a charge, claiming the superintendent interfered with employees' right to organize.

Education Minnesota described Wednesday's vote as "wall to wall," including teachers, education assistance and cooking staff.

Chang did not respond to a request to comment.

Community School of Excellence school board chair Patti Hessling emailed a statement to reporters Monday evening.

"The School does not believe that a union will add significantly to the School's tremendous success in delivering high quality education, nor that a union is the answer to any of the School's challenges. But the School respects the protected rights of its employees to make a free choice about union representation as well to engage in other ways of working together for their mutual benefit without a union present."

In January teachers at the Twin Cities German Immersion School in St. Paul were the first charter in Minnesota to join the statewide teachers union.