The city's teachers union will file a lawsuit Monday in a bid to block the closure of 19 schools - ramping up its already antagonistic relationship with City Hall.
The United Federation of Teachers lawsuit accuses the city of violating the state mayoral control law by failing to account for the impact of the shutdowns on the community.
Advocates complained last week that the Education Department did not give proper notice about replacement schools before the Panel for Educational Policy voted Wednesday to approve the closures.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was in talks about joining the lawsuit, sources said. NAACP officials refused to comment yesterday.
A UFT lawsuit last year over the proposed closure of three other schools led the city to abandon its plans. None of those schools is on the closure list this year, having all received A's on recent city report cards.
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein defended the 19 closures yesterday - and slammed the UFT for feeding the frenzy at the raucous meeting at which they were approved.
"There are a lot of other people stirring this up," Klein said on Channel 7. "A lot of people who spoke at that meeting were union leaders and chapter leaders."
UFT President Michael Mulgrew acknowledged the union provided 50 buses for parents and teachers to travel to the Brooklynmeeting, but he denied that the thousands who attended were pushed by the union. "The fact that teachers and the community were standing together, that's what should be the takeaway for the chancellor," Mulgrew said.
The UFT is in a protracted contract dispute with the city.
Mayor Bloomberg said last week the union would have to accept 2% pay raises up to a maximum of $1,400 - or face 2,500 layoffs.
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