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Friday, June 16, 2017

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Even Trumpsters can see holes in Rahm's school plans

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Even Trumpsters can see holes in Rahm's school plans:

Even Trumpsters can see holes in Rahm's school plans



It's getting hard to tell who's worse on school issues these days, Donald Trump or Rahm Emanuel.

Trump's appointment of Betsy DeVos as ed secretary and his pumping $20B into so-called "choice" programs while making draconian cuts to public ed, certainly keeps his hold on the worst spot locked in for now. Arguably the worst ever.

But Trump still needs legislative and judicial support for his assaults on all things public while Rahm is able to carry out similar attacks through his autocratic control over CPS. The effects are just as chilling.

No need to rehash Rahm's devastating history of mass closings of public schools in Chicago's black community. He's still at it , like a one-trick poney, with 4 high schools in Englewood and the National Teachers Academy in South Loop now on the chopping block. They'll be replaced in theory by new, large, expensive megaschools.

Past school closings, where carried out by overriding mass opposition expressed in dozens of community meetings. The closing of every high school in Englewood  is now a fait accompli, without the benefit of community forums. A few are planned, after the important decisions have been made.

Mass closings in the past haven't saved much money for the district. They have created more Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Even Trumpsters can see holes in Rahm's school plans: