Daniel J.

Montgomery
President

Illinois Federation of Teachers

A Union of Professionals
www.ift-af-t.org

Karen GJ Lewis
ExecutiveVice President

Marcia K. Boone
Secretary-Treasurer

Westmont 500 Oakmont Lane Westmont, IL 60559

July 28,201 1 Jean-Claude Brizard Chief Executive Officer Chicago Public Schools 125 S Clark St # 14 Chicago, IL 60603-40 13 Dear CEO Brizard, We write to request that your office promptly investigate the events leading to the sale of Chicago Math and Science Academy's building and property. CMSA's board voted to sell its property to a business called New Plan Learning related to CMSA's present outside management contractor, Concept Schools. This vote was taken without notification or consultation with the community or stakeholders. If completed, the school board will lose control of its facility, become a tenant to a new landlord whose interests are elsewhere and pay pre-determined rent whereby the landlord will profit. We are deeply concerned the facility will be further removed from the community as it passes from the publicly-chartered board into the control of the private real estate entity. We believe the actions of CMSA board members were done to advance the personal and professional benefit of the outside firm and its employees. As evidence of the personal benefit of the outside contractors, CMSA Board Treasurer Edip Pektas voted to sell the building and property to New Plan Learning while he is a "financial advisor" to New Plan Learning. As further evidence of the professional benefit of the outside contractors, the relationship between CMSA, Concept Schools and New Plan Learning is documented by recent public reports of the Fitch Ratings Agency. Fitch concludes, "NPL was formXin2005bythTfoTndGs0fCoTcept tiEoGG and manage the physical facilities of the charter schools administered and managed by Concept." Lease payments collectively made by the transaction participants are structured to exceed debt service on the bonds. The flow of funds aggregates each school's respective lease payment; the additional wherewithal offered by the total of the over-funded lease payments is an essential strength of the transaction. The bond documents show that CMSAs facilities costs will increase from $240,000 in its 20 10 mortgage payment to nearly $1.1 million in rent payments in just 20 11 to the real estate entity. This gouging is what Fitch refers to as "over-funded lease payments."

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This whole transaction is the work of the small group of affiliated men who sit on the CMSA board, manage Concept Schools and run New Plan Learning for their own benefit at the expense of the school, the students and the community. We would gladly provide the land transaction records, evidence of interlocking relationships and bond financing documents that form the basis for this letter. We look forward to your response. Sincerely,

Daniel J. Montgomery IFT Presidenuchief Operating Officer

Karen GJ Lewis, NBCT IFT Executive Vice President

Cc:

James M. Sullivan, CPS Inspector General Lisa Madigan, IL Attorney General