Chicago Teachers Union: 'Putting 1,400 people out of work is no way to balance a budget and resource our schools.'

Chicago Teachers Union has a statement on the coming layoffs:

“We are blindsided by reports that the district intends to lay off 1,400 public school educators, given that we just met with them yesterday and there was no mention of this action. These layoffs prove that the Board never intended to make the pension payment in good faith and that they are using this to justify more attacks on our classrooms,” said Karen Lewis, president of the CTU. “Putting 1,400 people out of work is no way to balance a budget and resource our schools. This is going to hurt our students and the most vulnerable children in our district. These cuts are a result of a history of poor fiscal management by the Board of Education. Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s handpicked board has led this district over a financial cliff.

“We are outraged at this deceptive action that only furthers the distrust teachers, parents and students have of the Board. We thought it suspect at the time that the Board was pressuring us to sign off on an agreement yesterday, before we had a complete agreement. This is retaliatory and unnecessary because the mayor refuses to seek revenue options to stabilize CPS.”

Great moments of government schools.