Mayor Rahm Emanuel has officially
declared his support for the moratorium on Chicago Public School Closures this
Monday, November 26, 2012. When I first read this headline, I had no idea what
this meant for CPS and the students and families involved. After further
research, I have gained a greater understanding which I will share with all of
you readers! The CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, proposed
a five-year moratorium on school closures in-order for the school system to properly
size the districts and provide more community involvement in school closure
decisions. The moratorium is more-or-less a five year hold on school closures.
The idea of holding school closures for five years is to involve the parents
and community in all decisions and provide more stability for families. Also,
the moratorium will provide CPS with a greater chance to gain a four-month
extension on this year’s list of school closings. CPS requested the extension
at the end of March this year along with the word that they plan to issue the
five-year moratorium, which is now officially proposed. The Illinois House
approved this extension on Wednesday, November 28, 2012, and needs Governor Pat
Quinn to sign the final legislation before the week is up in order to finalize
the extension. Along with the extension, the moratorium is said to halt CPS
facility closures after this year. Mayor Emanuel will work with district
officials to enforce numerous school closings this year leading to five years
free of school closures.
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| Chicago Public
Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and Mayor Rahm Emanuel.. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) |
Mayor Emanuel has showed his support for the moratorium in
saying, “…year after year, Chicago Public Schools did not do an adequate job of
engaging communities in these critical decisions, and year after year students,
families and communities were left wondering of what was to come. That ends
this year." The Mayor believes this will give a peace of mind to
communities that have been in constant fear of the unknown. Hopefully, this is
the first step to stabilizing schools in the Chicago Public School District and
further improving the educational opportunities for students. (
Leave us a comment and tell us what you think about the
five-year moratorium. We want to hear what you think!
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