A recent travesty regarding the city Department of Education is its decision to close 19 schools. This will affect students, teachers and staff at each of these places. It is incomprehensible that city Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and his committee could vote to do this.
Our schools are already overcrowded, teachers are overworked and principals have been told to cut additional money from their school budgets. How can students receive a good education? How can teachers effectively deliver maximum instruction in classrooms where there are over 35 to 40 students in some instances? How can principals and assistant principals run their schools with these conditions and cut their budgets further?
What are all of the hardworking parents of public school students to do? It was great to see many people — parents, teachers and others — at that meeting in Brooklyn that lasted from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. the next morning. Watching these people express their frustration and anger to the committee on a news report was great.
There should be a massive rally and demonstration that affects all five boroughs so everybody — teachers, students, administrators and parents — can express their outrage at this latest foolhardy action by the DOE.
John Amato
Fresh Meadows
