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Fired CPS Teacher Was One of 11 Let Go at Benito Juarez H.S., Officials Say

By Chloe Riley | July 16, 2014 12:53pm
 Juarez union representative Manny Bermudez holds up papers documenting one Juarez teacher's allegations of altered student attendance. Bermudez, who came forward with his claim in May, has since been fired from Juarez and the high school is currently being investigated by the CPS inspector general. 
Juarez union representative Manny Bermudez holds up papers documenting one Juarez teacher's allegations of altered student attendance. Bermudez, who came forward with his claim in May, has since been fired from Juarez and the high school is currently being investigated by the CPS inspector general. 
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DNAinfo/Chloe Riley

PILSEN — A recently fired Chicago Public Schools teacher was one of 11 teachers let go this year at Benito Juarez High School due to budget cuts, CPS officials said.

Manuel Bermudez — a computer teacher and union rep who had been at the school for 14 years — charged that his termination on June 26 was retaliation for his raising allegations last year that attendance records and grades had been altered at Juarez in an effort to boost the school's ratings.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, CPS spokesman Joel Hood said Bermudez was terminated due to "declining student enrollment and the loss of state grant money."

Chloe discusses Bermudez' reaction to being fired:

"At Benito Juarez High School, and many schools across the District, the principal had to make difficult budget decisions because of declining student enrollment and the loss of state grant money. The school has cut some teaching positions for next school year, but will continue to offer a broad array of high-quality academic programs," Hood said in an email. 

CPS officials said laid off teachers can apply for jobs at other schools; some 60 percent teachers are re-hired by the next school year.

In the last year, Bermudez had filed formal complaints with both the CPS Inspector General's Office and the Chicago Teachers Union regarding what he claimed were discrepancies in the high school's record-keeping. He had also filed a complaint with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board on May 9, stating he was "threatened" by an email sent from a Juarez administrator to the school's staff in which Bermudez and other teachers were accused of libel after speaking to DNAinfo Chicago regarding the claims that grades had been altered at Juarez.

Bermudez is currently appealing his termination to CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett. 

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