San Diego charter school teachers voted to leave union: There will be 'a lot more joy' in classrooms

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Teachers at a charter school in California on Thursday voted to dissolve their union and leave the San Diego Educators Association (SDEA).

Teachers at Gompers Preparatory Academy, a public charter school in the Chollas View neighborhood of San Diego, voted 25-to-17 to break away from the SDEA. The teachers had been part of the union since 2019, but some felt they were forced to join at the time. Those teachers filed a complaint to the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).

The effort was reportedly led by Cynthia Ornelas, a sixth-grade teacher at Gompers. 

"There is definitely a lot more joy that's going to be in classrooms now, instead of a burden with the union," Ornelas told local news outlet KPBS. "The union was making decisions for us, oh my goodness! We never knew what they were deciding because they didn't communicate with teachers."

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Teachers at Gompers Preparatory Academy [GPA], a public charter school in the Chollas View neighborhood of San Diego, voted 25-to-17 to break away from the SDEA. (iStock)

Teachers that wanted to pull out of the union were aided by National Right to Work, a non-profit that "seeks to eliminate coercive union power and compulsory unionism abuses through strategic litigation." 

"The educators received free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys," National Right to Work [NRW] noted in a press release.

Gompers Preparatory Academy teachers have been trying to break away from the union since 2019.

"I chose to work at a school that didn’t have a union, and now they’ve come in, and they’re running everything about my contract and my work," Kristie Chiscano, who was a Gompers chemistry teacher, said at the time. 

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According to data on U.S. News and World Report, 82% of Gompers Preparatory Academy students are economically disadvantaged and 99% are minorities. (iStock)

The petition entailed collecting ballots from teachers from May 10 to June 6. The PERB announced yesterday that a majority of teachers voted to no longer be part of the SDEA union. The union reportedly said they would not appeal the decision. 

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The SDEA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

In March 2005, Gompers was converted into a charter school per the approval of the San Diego Unified Board of Education. ((AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez))

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In March 2005, Gompers was converted into a charter school per the approval of the San Diego Unified Board of Education.

According to data on U.S. News and World Report, 82% of the academy's students are economically disadvantaged and 99% are minorities.

GPA presides over 1,337 students and the school serves 6-12th graders.