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Demographics change. What were once neighborhoods filled with young families become primarily empty-nesters. Or the neighborhood stops being as safe so families flee to the suburbs. It doesn't make sense to have a bunch of buildings you have to keep heated and staffed filled to only half capacity, so it makes better sense to close or consolidate under-enrolled schools and get as close to 100% capacity in all open buildings as you can.
School systems do not have unlimited resources. Chicago added a lot of new schools during a time when student enrollment was declining. It was a stupid, but I am sure politically motivated, decision when they did it. This time, although it is probably still politically motivated, hopefully the decision is being driven by fiscal responsibility. Running a building for just a few students is not cost-effective. I couldn't believe it when I read that they had a school originally built for over 200 that now had a mere 27 students. Just to give you an idea of how ridiculous that is, I seldom had even a single class with less students.
They are closing schools in my area, too. We are in Exurbia (Pocono Mountains, PA) which expanded rapidly in the wake of post-9/11 flight from New York City, and which has been contracting almost as rapidly since 2008 as people slowly move back towards their home area in the wake of tough economic times.
???
Pittsburgh's economy is NOTHING like Detroit and Cleveland! Why did you include it in this post?
it may not be detroit or cleveland comparatively but its not what it was at its height. on top of that living in the south i've met untold numbers of western PA / pittsburgh transplants who moved down here for economic reasons. it still remains a rustbelt city and i guess i would put it closer to chicago and further from detroit and cleveland. i will say that pitt took the same approach chicago did in that they adapted to the changing times industry wise so maybe i was quick to lump them in with the other two mentioned but one has to agree that its not what it once was economically when it was the center of an entire industrial universe.
The CTU beat Rahm in a historic strike this past September and hasn’t stopped fighting austerity and privatization since.
Really? I do not think the CTU "beat" Rahm.
The magazine "The Nation" self describes as the flagship of the left. So that article is ridiculously biased for the CTU. Their opposition to the closings had nothing to do with children or education. It was about losing jobs. And when you have too many schools, too many classrooms, and too many teachers, some jobs will be lost.
it may not be detroit or cleveland comparatively but its not what it was at its height. on top of that living in the south i've met untold numbers of western PA / pittsburgh transplants who moved down here for economic reasons.
Yep - mass exodus out of the area when the mills closed in the 80s.
But it is much improved over the last decades. Come take a look sometimes... you'll be impressed!
A few weeks ago the Chicago school board voted to close 50 schools. Some other cities are doing likewise.
Why is this happening more now? Schools have always had funding problems. Now suddenly there are more closings than ever before.
a) Urban flight.
b) Charter schools.
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