Well, it worked like it was supposed to work: the mayor’s appointed stooges on the “Board of Education” voted to close 50 Chicago public schools to make way for corporate charter reform schools. Never mind that communities barely held together will lose their lifelines, never mind that violence is almost guaranteed to increase (as it did when Duncan shuttered schools), and never mind that many professional teachers will be replaced by uncertified white corporate missionaries.
But Mayor Rahm must accept the political repercussions for his callous acts. Today starts the Voter Registration Drive in Chicago to make sure public school dictatorship ends there and that Rahm is sent back to Washington to become an official corporate lobbyist, rather than one on the public dole pretending to act in the public interest. From NPR in Chicago:
… . The fight over school closings is part of a political showdown that began earlier in the school year when teachers went on strike for the first time in 25 years. This week, Mayor Emanuel said he was standing firm on the school closings: “I will absorb the political consequence so our children have a better future.”
The Chicago Teachers Union backs lawsuits filed by parents to block the closings, arguing that they disproportionately affect African-American students and harm special education students.
The school board in Chicago is appointed by the mayor, and teachers union President Karen Lewis said the fight must eventually move to the ballot box.
“Our next plan is to have to change the governance of CPS [Chicago Public Schools],” she said. “Clearly this kind of cowboy-mentality, mayoral control is out of control. We’re starting our deputy registration, and we will be registering voters across the city.”
Their goal is to push the mayor and others who backed the school closings out of office, and to gather support for an elected school board.
Mayor Rahm Expands Corporate Footprint on Chicago Children and Parents: