The Chicago Board of Education voted today to close nearly 50 elementary schools.
After hearing from aldermen, angry parents and community members in a meeting interrupted several times by protesters, the Chicago Board of Education today approved a plan to close 49 elementary schools and one high school program.
After more than two hours of public comments, Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and board members defended the plan to close the highest number of schools the city has ever shut down in a single year.
“We can no longer embrace the status quo because the status quo is not working for all Chicago school children,” Byrd-Bennett said before the vote was taken. “It is imperative that you take the difficult decision but essential steps.”
Closing some schools and focusing funds on others may lead to better outcomes all around but, on the other hand, our nations education system shouldn’t be as underfunded as it currently is.
Even if you aren’t someone who has a child or relative in school, in the future we’ll all pay for neglecting the system.
From my understanding, the Chicago Board of Education’s actions will set a new national record for school closures and will effect tens of thousands of students.