The two major stumbling blocks to approval of the plan were the Teachers Union and the Hispanic community. Both felt unceremoniously ignored and indignant at being shut out of the proceedings.

The Chelsea Teachers Union, represented by the the American Federation of Teachers, filed a lawsuit against B.U. and the city contesting the constitutionality of delegating public functions to a private institution.

But while the union proclaimed that the university was usurping voters' rights, Silber insisted that the university would do nothing more than a superintendent would.

The union also objected that B.U. operated outside public opinion with umpunity in the face of criticism. The university requested exemption from many public interest laws, such as open record and public meeting regulations which usually govern the actions of public school commitees.

While attempting to gain approval, B.U also antagonized the Hispanic community, which makes up more than half of the city's population. The Chelsea Commission on Hispanic Affairs challenged the proposal, arguing that it left half of the city's residents politically disenfranchised.

Silber's commitment to bilingual education was also deemed suspect by the community. More than 70 percent of the 3300 students in the system live in homes where English is not the first language.

But Sharp responds, "We're not willing to give the Hispanic community any more or less of a voice than any other group. It would be divisive and just as absurd as disenfranchising any part of the population."

The First Year

Much of the first year was spent building the foundational aspects of the program. This included installing new computers in the schools, negotiating new teacher contracts and running workshops for teachers. But complaints of an "unequal partnership" still lingered.

Sharp accepts such tendencies as normal and expected. "These problems are not unique to Chelsea. It comes with the turf," he says. Problems were exacerbated this year when much of the teaching staff was laid off before the start of summer.

Sharp says that the cuts have not injured the morale of the staff and is quick to say that it was Carlin's decision.

"People felt that the reasons for reducing the staff were beyond control. The very nature of the roles that management and union play mean that certain tensions will always exist," says Sharp.

Towards Family Schools

B.U.'s goal, says Sharp, is to create "family schools" which go beyond the traditional programs offered by most schools. These reforms include a dental screening clinic and health education program for classes from kindergarten through the eighth grade, an intergenerational literacy plan, and an alternative high school program to accomadate the one out of every four teenage girls in Chelsea who are pregnant.

"We're trying to build a model of education reform over the next 10 years," says Sharp. The reform includes hands-on activity such as a volunteer tutoring program from the B.U. student body and a visiting teachers program bringing B.U. faculty into city schools.