BOARDWATCH... Chicago Teachers Union's recording secretary challenges the Board at its January 25 meeting...
Michael Brunson speaking at a recent meeting of the Chicago Board of Education. Substance photo.[Editor's Note: The remarks below are the prepared remarks delivered to the January 25, 2017 meeting of the Chicago Board of Education by Chicago Teachers Union Recording Secretary Michael Brunson. Mr. Brunson provided his remarks to Substance for publication and they are presented here as he provided them to us. George N. Schmidt, Editor, Substance.]
Good Afternoon everyone. Everyone’s so new!
Michael Brunson, Chicago Teachers Union, and
indulge me, I just want to begin with an interesting twitter quote:
“If Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible “carnage” going on … I will send in the Feds!”
… and we all know who that is (President Trump).
I suppose our Mayor, at whose leisure this appointed Board serves, is not happy about Chicago being put on blast like that …
But aside from the obvious sensationalism and the underlying tragedy that this posturing points towards I want to make an undeniably true statement:
Every time there is a shooting in this city, not just when the victim is identified, but tellingly, when the perpetrator is indicted (which happens all too seldom), somewhere there is a teacher that look at that name and thinks “that child was in my classroom!”
And I say this to say that. Everybody passes through our public education system. Our educators deal with everyone. And this does not have to become a prelude to tragedy.
Education is the most effective prevention we have:
· against crime,
· against, criminality,
· against violence,
· against mayhem
· against murder.
Our educational system has an opportunity to inculcate our youth with humane, social, civil, and civic values that will make a police state not just unnecessary, but a thing of the past. Education, REAL EDUCATION, can salvage this city and change this world! Education has to potential to bring about a peace that no police force, military force, war, prison system, OR GRAVEYARD ever will.
And our schools have the potential to become safe havens, and sanctuaries.
Will this BOARD allow that to happen?
I am here today to say that the 4 furlough days, where you are de-professionalizing teaching, and cutting the pay of our educators are an outrage and a violation of the recent agreement between the CBOE and the CTU … before the ink is even dry.
We’re told it’s about money. The Budget … a cash crunch … but this Board has refused to:
· demand TIF monies,
· · advocate for a LaSalle Street tax,
· · advocate for a millionaire’s tax,
· · consider a corporate head tax,
· · prosecute banks for ripping off the district with toxic swaps,
· · and has generally asked for less money than the district needs to function when you do finally panic and go asking Springfield for funding. And this Kronos pilot, a scheme to eliminate clerk positions: a group that is the key for interacting with parents and the public in our schools. We are already hearing you are planning to eliminate a good number of these positions, positions that are filled by over 80% Black and Latina women. Women who are corner stones of their households and communities, communities which are already reeling from violence caused by lack of employment and investment. Did you see the women’s march last week-end? Go ahead them riled up.
This will make all the problems our communities face worse. This will make the problems of our city worse. Can you give us a guarantee that this new Kronos pilot system won't lead to the elimination of school clerks?
Later you will receive a proposal, from many community organizations and CTU, for Sanctuary Schools which are critical to the safety, wellness, and survival of our students, So considering that and the need to adequately implement Restorative Justice practices in our schools, we are demanding that you restore the 4 furlough days immediately to provide critical training to our members on how to support our students who are experiencing trauma. from violence, and from the threats of deportation. I end by encouraging you to give us a definitive answer of what you will support in our upcoming proposal, the stakes are high. We regard this as an ethical imperative and a moral duty,
And I just want to end by saying one more thing because you seem to minimize the importance of prep time and professional development. One of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln said,
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
Thank you. Any comments?
