The Chicago Teacher's Union didn't mince words in reacting to the possible closure of 54 Chicago Public Schools.
"Our mayor, who's away on a ski trip, drops this information right before Spring Break," Lewis said at an afternoon press conference outside Mahalia Jackson Elementary School on the city's south side. "This is cowardly and it's the ultimate bullying job. Mayor Rahm Emanuel should be ashamed of himself."
She called the proposal "racist" and "classist" and said it would send the "school district into utter chaos."
"We are looking at murdering jobs, we are looking at murdering schools and we've got a murder problem in the city," said Lewis.
Lewis said no decision-makers were at the public meetings held over the past few months to discuss the school closings. She says much of the problem lies with the school board, which needs to be made up of elected, not appointed representatives.
"All of this stuff is done under the cloak of darkness without transparency," Lewis said.
The union contends the closures aren't necessary and won't save any money while putting "students' safety and academics at risk."
"We know that when schools close, children lose three to six months of learning. This is a real problem, and it doesn't seem they have taken this into consideration," Lewis said,
The CTU plans to hold a rally and march on March 27 to protest the closings.
| CTU President Karen Lewis Responds to School Closings |
