Dive Summary:
- All 50 teaching and administrative employees of four alternative schools operated by for-profit firm Delaware Valley High School received furlough letters last week, dated July 1 and signed only "DVHS."
- Several teachers who reached lawyer and owner David T. Shulick by phone were reportedly threatened with lawsuits for breach of confidentiality if they disclosed the layoffs.
- District spokesman Fernando Gallard says layoffs will be taken into consideration regarding the company's contract extension.
From the article:
Without warning, Delaware Valley High School - a for-profit education firm whose records were recently subpoenaed by a federal grand jury - has laid off all 50 teaching and administrative employees at the four alternative schools it operates in the region.
Staffers said lawyer David T. Shulick, whose company operates the schools, owes them each thousands of dollars for work during the 2011-12 academic year. They had been expecting back pay last week but got furlough notices instead.
In late February, the FBI raided Shulick's Logan Square law office, searching for documents related to Delaware Valley's relationship with Chaka "Chip" Fattah Jr., 29, whose father is U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Philadelphia Democrat...