The Chicago Board of Education yesterday voted to go ahead with closing seven schools, although parents have expressed heavy opposition to the plan.
The changes include closing Anderson Elementary and consolidating it into LaSalle II Magnet School, consolidating Carpenter Elementary into Talcott, closing Schneider Elementary and consolidating it into Jahn, merging Avondale Elementary and Logandale Middle schools, and consolidating the four schools at the Bowen High campus into one.
Interim schools CEO Terry Mazany has said the changes are necessary because many of the campuses suffer from low enrollment and the district faces a budget shortfall.
But CPS had pledged under former CEO Ron Huberman to give parents and aldermen plenty of warning about school consolidations. Mazany's plan came out of the blue, and he apparently put it forward without discussing in advance with aldermen and community activists.
Yesterday's meeting was likely the final one for the board, whose members will soon be replaced with those chosen by Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel.