"Twenty schools the city proposes to close for poor performance. One night to vote on them all. Seats for nearly 1,000 people, many of them likely to be angry.
On Jan. 26, the large auditorium of Brooklyn Technical High School promises to be the scene for a showdown. For the first time since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg began closing schools for poor performance in 2002, there will be a public vote on the city’s plans, rather than a decision made by officials behind closed doors."
On Jan. 26, the large auditorium of Brooklyn Technical High School promises to be the scene for a showdown. For the first time since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg began closing schools for poor performance in 2002, there will be a public vote on the city’s plans, rather than a decision made by officials behind closed doors."
The vote, by the Panel for Educational Policy, will cap a newly mandated 45-day public comment period, now underway, during which some of the schools singled out for closure have vowed to hold rallies and organize against the decision. Each school will also host a public hearing in January (the dates are posted on the Department of Education Web site) for parents, community members, students and teachers that education officials will attend.
The odds are strongly against opponents of the closings. Eight of the panel’s 13 members are appointed by the mayor, who can remove his appointees at will. The panel has never turned down an administration proposal.