Dave Glowacz: Can you tell me what interactions you had with CPS and with your principal [in regards] to your dismissal and the events leading up to it?
Megan Ruthaivilavan: On July 16, I got a . . .I received a phone call from a friend of mine who is a social studies teacher and she said, you know, I just got a phone call from a friend of mine and she says, she just told me that she was offered a social studies position at your school. And I was floored. I said, well I’m the only social studies teacher and she’s like, yeah, I thought it sounded kind of funny. This girl wants to . . . Is it okay if I give her your number because she wants to know more about the school before she takes the job?” I said, absolutely, I’m curious about it myself. We get in touch and she, you know, tells me her name and begins to tell me, she says to me, well, didn’t you see the job in the CPS Bulletin? I said early on, maybe in June I saw something, I guess I didn’t think twice, and it was again posted in July again, so I look back and, lo and behold, it’s my job description. And she told me she was offered a social studies position by Bridget Swenson, and that Bridget Swenson also told her that if you take the job, just be aware that on the first day, some of the other teachers might not be so happy because they voted on a schedule that I had reversed because that’s the way it’s always been.
This girl proceeded to tell me that she inquired why there were so many job openings on the CPS Bulletin in our school when there were so many layoffs occurring in previous months and my school responded, oh that’s because that people were either let go because of pedagogical differences or they left on their own accord. So, we continue to talk and, you know, and she tells me, you know, I’m looking for a democratic school, that’s open-minded [laughs], that allows teachers to voice their opinions. And I said, I think based on the conversation we’re having, I think you’ve sort of answered your questions, and then I said, well then, I’m either looking forward to working with you or I’m beginning to believe that you’re taking my job.”
Dave Glowacz: So this was July 16 of this year
Megan Ruthaivilavan: Yes.
Dave Glowacz: And you had no indication until the end of the school year that your job was in jeopardy
Megan Ruthaivilavan: Oh, absolutely not.
Dave Glowacz: Okay
Meghan Ruthaivilavan: No hint or clue, whatsoever.
Dave Glowacz: Okay
Megan Ruthaivilavan: And when I received this call, my colleagues Shelly and another friend of ours that had taught at the school were all there and they were, I, I told them, like, oh my god, and they were like, ah, this just can’t be happening. On July 19, I sent Bridget an email and I said, I said I just wanted to know what classes I’ll be teaching the fall. I just wanted to see if she would return an email, you know, to kind of give me a clue what’s going on here. She never responds
And that’s when I contacted the union and I said, hey, this sounds crazy, am I crazy to be on my toes here, can this happen and they’re like, it sounds absolutely ridiculous. No. There’s no way they can do this to you. I’m like, okay, all right, no problem.
July 21, Bridget calls me and leaves a voicemail. She says that she has some important news to share with me and then hangs up. I return the call, she does not pick up, and I leave a voicemail. I wait a few hour—you know, later in the day, I call again, she doesn’t pick up.
I find out—everybody starts making phone calls—that my colleague Mike and Crystal were just terminated on that day. So, I’m thinking, that phone call was my termination, for sure.
Well then, finally on July 22, at 6:52 p.m., she calls me and tells me that my position’s been terminated due to budget cuts in the summer. And then she tells me, I have something to read to you over the phone, she reads this long letter, you know, my head’s in a spin.
Dave Glowacz: This is Bridget?
Megan Ruthaivilavan: This is Bridget. So finally, it takes her, you know, from July 21st, she leaves a voicemail, never returns my call and then finally July 22, tells me, you know, that I’m, my position’s terminated due to something about budget cuts and whatnot and that I only have my benefits until August 31. I then say to her I noticed that there, you know, there were positions posted online and then she retorts, well, that was before the budget cuts. She said that she received news on July 19 but was told to wait until the 20th to release the information and I responded that I did not believe this to be true. I said, flat out, you knew in June what you were going to do, and she paused and then she admitted, yeah, I knew as early as June.
And then I said to her, you need to tell me, as of right now, I no longer exist in the system, my position number no longer exists. And she responds yes, and the reason why I said this is because back on July 16, when this girl informed me that she might be taking this job, she told me that Bridget had already given her position number and I said, I asked her on the phone, you know, can you please read me that position number? I wrote it down. I looked at my paycheck stub, it’s my exact number, and that’s why I specifically asked Bridget Swenson, so I mean—my position number exists. This girl has it.
Dave Glowacz: So, she lied to you.
Megan Ruthaivilavan: Pretty much.