In Chicago, 10 protesters were arrested this month after they and close to 200 others gathered outside Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office to protest school closings, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The protest came hours after the 404,000-student district requested an extension from the state legislature on its timeline for announcing school actions.
The Chicago school district is required by a state law to determine by Dec. 1 which schools would close. But on Nov. 2, district Chief Executive Officer Barbara Byrd-Bennett asked to delay the decision until March 31, in order to “launch a rigorous, transparent, and open dialogue with school communities over the next several months to help the district make more informed decisions around school actions and better invest resources.”
An editorial in the Sun-Times applauded Ms. Byrd-Bennett for seeking the extension, saying it turned the district’s former approach to closings—announce first, work with the community later—on its head.
The Chicago Teachers Union has voted to seek a moratorium on school closings.
