this is not my rant. this is the rant from a psyche worker in chicago public schools. karen lewis.

[mopinko]

12. which you fix by closing half empty schools

so that you are not spread so thin.

and just ftr- the decision to have a library is NOT a central office decision. those sorts of staffing are made by principals. libraries, in case you missed it, are going out of vogue with kids. they are often rarely used these day.
and in point of fact, getting rid of the staff slot, which is what was done, does not mean they set the books on fire, just that they dont have a full time librarian. with the longer day, i would assume that the libraries in every well managed school are getting a heavy workout, and there is now more staff available for that.

the system was in dire need of re-allignment, and some of these pits were in dire need of closing.
it does not, in fact, have anything to do with libraries.
it has everything to do with accountability. unfortunately the schools must correct their own errors, and rarely have the guts to do what needs to be done.
rahm put the hammer down on these pits, but karen lewis managed to make everyone, including those kids, that it was because they were black.
an ugly, ugly lie.