Charter expansions continue, while community protests grow
Playing on the word "Noble", Brighton Park neighbors protested in their community on October 26, 2015 against the Board of Education's plan to build a "campus" of the "Noble Network of Charter Schools" on the Southwest Side. On October 28, 2015, the Board of Education voted against the community's wishes and "Noble" got another "campus". Labor Beat Photo.Although the Chicago Board of Education on October 28, 2015 voted YES to build an additional "campus" of the Noble Network of Charter Schools in Brighton Park, the city-wide battle to defend public schools continues as communities like Brighton Park build coalitions for more far-reaching fight-backs to future City Hall attacks on working people. All this while a possible teachers strike looms this winter.
Brighton Park Community Says No Charter School... On YouTube at:
https://youtu.be/7rPtJAMe8XY
In late October of 2015 hundreds of students, teachers and community members, backed by the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, marched to 14th Ward Alderman Burke's office on Chicago's Southwest side. They opposed Burke's support for a new Noble charter school in an area which already has a public high school -- Kelly. Kelly, unlike Noble charter schools, does not throw out students with lower scores or other difficulties. The march was labeled "The Day of the Dead" and many participants can be seen in Halloween makeup.
Lisa Villanueva, with the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, told us: "I don't want Noble schools because it takes the money that we could have for our Chicago public schools such as Kelly High School. No Noble!"
This fight to defend public schools in Brighton Park extended two days later to the Oct. 28 meeting of the Chicago Public Schools board, which was also organizing new massive attacks on public education with planned austerity cuts of faculty and programs city-wide.
Jesse Sharkey, the Vice President of the Chicago Teachers Union, told a sidewalk press conference right before the CPS board meeting: "They're talking about cuts of a half billion dollars. They've already imposed $200 million in cuts. $38 million of that goes to special education. They'd be doing that kind of damage to public schools and at the same time they're opening politically-connected charter schools, that the president of the board's name is on the charter school network that they're talking about handing over new schools to. Why are you opening new schools at the same time you can't even fund the ones you have?"
As the CPS board met, students protested by sitting down on the sidewalk for a "study-in". This showed the growing, creative role played by students in the defense of public education. Length - 12:00
Brighton Park community march on Oct. 26, 2015. Photo: David Vance/Labor Beat
Rebecca Martinez, CTU Organizer, with protest at Alderman Burke's office. Photo: David Vance/Labor Beat
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