Dave Glowacz: So you got dismissed, right?

Mike Quigley: Mm-hm. 

Dave Glowacz: Do you wanna tell me about the circumstances?

Mike Quigley: OK, we were contacted by our principal on July 21st through a phone call, which he read a scripted e-mail, supposedly from the board, which stated that our positions were no longer available. So it was me, Megan, and then this other girl, a French teacher, Crystal Schaldenbrand. 

Dave Glowacz: OK.

Mike Quigley: So we were told over the phone that we'd be getting a letter in a couple days from the board that stated why we were being let go. I got the letter, I think, July 26th—that Monday, I believe. And it stated that I was honorably dismissed because of redefinition. And what I was told was that my position . . . it went from a science . . . to be strictly a science-endorsed teacher to be a science bilingual-endorsed teacher. And our positions were posted on-line, on the CPS Web site. 

Dave Glowacz: What was your reaction to that?

Mike Quigley: I was kinda taken aback, because I thought, being a tenured teacher, they just couldn't, ya know, git rid of me . . . ya know, abruptly as they did, without any kind of due process or anything, here. I was never notified any—ya know, that they were going a different way—like, even at the end of the year, last year. So it came as kinda surprise to me. 

Dave Glowacz: And what did you think about the bilingual aspect?

Mike Quigley: I couldn't understand that, because lately we'd been getting more African-American students in our school, so I would think, if anything . . . we never had a bilingual program to begin with . . . that I was feeling that our demographics were changing to more African-Americans. So why would we all of a sudden go to a bilingual program when we never had a bilingual program ever?

Dave Glowacz: All right, so then what happened next?

Mike Quigley: After that, I contacted the union, and the union contacted the board. The lawyer, Tom Moriarty, e-mailed them back, giving them reasons why our positions were redefined. He sent this letter that stated that my position was changed, 'cause as we looked at our positions that were on-line, it did not have a bilingual endorsement on there. It said that they preferred to have a bilingual endorsed teacher, not that they needed a bilingual endorsed teacher. Consequently, it would come up that it was just my position. It wasn't even that they were saying that the new position was bilingual endorsed. But Tom Moriarty sent a letter that said, well, he's losing his position because he's supposed to have a bilingual endorsement . . . the position has changed to a bilingual endorsement. But the position on-line did not say that.

Dave Glowacz: Then what happened?

Mike Quigley: Now, the French teacher, her position was changed to a Spanish position, even though we never taught Spanish at the school the eight years I was ever there—but all of a sudden they're gonna teach Spanish.
    After that, I went on some interviews. And I went on an interview at this one school, and she offered me the job. I came down there on a Friday, and she said she'd call me back in a couple hours—this was for a middle school science teacher—and she offered me that job. So she was gonna put me in on that Friday, but then she said, well, I'll try to get you in as soon as possible.
    So that Monday, I received an e-mail from her saying to call her ASAP, because she was havin' trouble placing me into the position. Well, when I talked to her, she said that she was havin' trouble with my employee ID number, that if I'd give her my Social Security number, she could put that into her computer and enroll me, put me in the position that way.
    And when she did that, a couple minutes later she came back and said that she wouldn't be able to hire me because I had an unsatisfactory rating. And I was kinda surprised, because my last rating was excellent. And we've heard that there was some kinda—that they're doin' that to some teachers, that they were changing their evaluation ratings, bringin' them down to unsatisfactory, when indeed they never received unsatisfactory.

Dave Glowacz: Who did you hear that from?

Mike Quigley: As a matter of fact, the day I went in for an interview, she brought me into the office before the interview and said that she just tried to hire a person, and that their rating—she couldn't hire because her rating . . . she was red-flagged, she could not hire her because her ratings went down to unsatisfactory. And this woman was taken aback, because she said she never had received any unsatisfactory ratings. I also heard of it at one of our union meetings, too, they were saying.
    So then I called the union. I called Jackson Potter. And he called that Tom Moriarty again. Mr. Moriarty e-mailed back and said, no, he is not on the do not hire list; where were we getting this information? So he was denying there was a do not hire list, but I think—I heard at another meeting that some guy has a letter that does say that there's some kinda do not hire list, and he got that from the board.
    Anyways, he sent an e-mail back, said, no, he should be able to get rehired. He's not on some do not hire list. And I have his evaluations right here. Whatever Web site they were—I have a copy of that. It shows that I have excellent ratings.
    Then I got another call from a principal. 'Cause I did summer school at this school, and they gave me a call and said they had a position opening. So she said she was gonna offer me—she offered me a position. And I got hired into that position on August 30th or August 31st, I got hired right before school started.