The residents of the City of Chester, PA are being kept in the dark when it comes to their children's education.  The Chester Upland School District has been holding meetings about the future of the district, meetings that have been held behind closed doors.  If you read the local news you are already aware of the Chester Upland School Districts financial distress and their recent overtaking by the Chester County Intermediate Unit for their operational areas.  Under the guidance of the receiver and the workings of a school board who does not feel the community needs to be aware of all the issues, the district is in the direction of a charter takeover.  Chester Community Charter School, a school rife with issues of their own, has been in the workings to elicit a contract with Judge Barry Dozer to oversee the K-8 grade levels for the entire district.  CCCS has lower testing scores than that of the CUSD as well as numerous internal issues regarding their staffing and leadership.  Due to his political "buy in", CEO Vahan Gureghian has been able to keep this sinking ship of a school afloat.  A true testament to what money can achieve in today's educational climate.  Added to the concern would be the district's contracted consultant, Dr. Leroy Nunery, former COO of Thomas Edison Charter School (circa 2005).  This charter up and left the city overnight, presenting a wealth of concern and holes that needed to be filled immediately.  Now, it appears he and his company (Plus Ultre) are leading the consulting work for the district.  The company's advertised points of success are private school operation and development, charter board development and oversight of private education fields alike.  Though not illegal, the ethics behind contracting an individual with a sordid past in the private education areas seems well worth sharing at the least.  The community is being kept out of the loop, only being given information in tid-bits as well as long winded legal jargon, not conducive to keeping the community informed.  So let's rally and speak up on the issue at CUSD.  With a school board meeting on Thursday 12/17/2020, ask your board and the receiver who comprised the Task Force in deciding what is best for CUSD?  What community members have been vetted and involved aside from the elected school board.  Why are the financials for the district kept under lock and key when the Public Schools Financial Transparency Act explicitly states those numbers need to be public?  Stay woke everyone and voice up, or you will stand to lose the very freedom of who teaches our children and how our children are educated.

---Anthony Gregory