[Summit] School closings

[Greg Gerritt]

Food for thought with Providence doing this.  Greg gerritt


INNER CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BEING CLOSED ACROSS THE LAND

DIANE BUKOWSKI, NNPA - From Detroit to San Francisco, Chicago to
Baltimore, a tidal wave of school closings, usually in large, poor
urban districts, has washed over the country. In many cases, the
closings have wreaked havoc and met with little resistance, but other
communities are fighting back, in some cases calling for complete
moratoriums on school closings and demanding additional "equivalent"
funding for poor districts.

- Chicago: Mayor Richard Daley's "Renaissance 2010" campaign has
called for closing 100 schools by 2010. A 2006 article in the Chicago
Sun Times said closings which have taken place so far have resulted in
an increase in violent incidents at the schools which are left as
those from the closed schools flood in. A 1996 study showed that
students who have been moved from other schools also have lower
student achievement scores than their stable counterparts.

The Chicago teachers union and community organizations have slowed the
closings through persistent mass protests. Additionally, Black and
Latino state legislators there have drafted legislation providing a
way for voters to keep their schools open, and additionally threatened
to withhold construction funding for the district.

Chicago Alderman Michael Chandler has campaigned for a city ordinance
that would halt school closings entirely until a study is conducted on
how children displaced by closings are doing in their new schools. . .

- New York City: In 2001, a New York court ruled that the state was
violating its own constitution which guarantees every child the right
to a "sound basic education," by failing to provide "equivalent
funding" for New York City's children, 62 percent of whom live in
poverty. In 2002, a higher court ordered the state to come up with
$5.6 billion in additional funding for NYC schools. Republican
Governor George Pataki appealed, a hearing was held in November, and
results are still pending. . .

Additionally, New Yorkers for Smaller Class Size are petitioned for a
ballot referendum requiring immediate reductions in class size. New
York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg blocked the referendum in court, and
that appeal is also pending.

- Baltimore: The Baltimore Education Advocates, a coalition of groups,
is campaigning for a moratorium on school closings. . .

- Seattle: Strong public opposition forced Seattle Superintendent Raj
Manhas to drop plans to close schools in 2004, but he came back with a
proposal to close ten schools in 2006, aided by a 14-member advisory
committee of executives from the business, finance, communication and
education arena. He talked the board into supporting the closures. . .

- San Francisco: A school board decision to close or merge 14 schools
in 2006 resulted in rallies in front of the central office, petitions
by families to start their own district, and a one-day attendance
boycott at one of the

http://blackpressusa.com/News/Article.asp?SID=3&Title=Hot+Stories&NewsID=119
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