Education is a social right! The working class must fight mass school closures in Chicago and around the country!

Acero Schools, a charter network within Chicago Public Schools (CPS), has announced plans to close seven of its 15 schools, an attack on the right to public education. The decision will displace over 2,000 students and eliminate 270 jobs, primarily impacting working-class neighborhoods and children from immigrant families.

More closures are being planned within the district. Last month, a list of nearly 100 CPS schools considered for closure or consolidation was leaked in the course of contract negotiations between the city and the Chicago Teachers Union.

The Socialist Equality Party candidates in the 2024 elections condemn school closures and call on workers to mobilize against the dismantling of public education. We support the call by the Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Committee in its statement, “Stop Acero’s school closures in Chicago! For a unified struggle of teachers and workers against all budget cuts and school closures!”

In the last four years, as the wealth of billionaires has nearly doubled, the administration of Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson presents the “choice” of immediate school closures or high-interest loans that prepare the way for ever larger cuts in the near future.

School districts across the country are faced with the so-called “fiscal cliff.” The Biden-Harris administration has allowed almost $200 billion of emergency education funding (ESSER) to expire, forcing districts nationwide into dire financial straits. The “fiscal cliff” itself is the culmination of years of attacks on public education, as states enacted tax cuts for the rich and diverted funds to private and charter schools, leaving public school systems starved for resources, as private school enrollment and voucher programs swelled.

Chicago is just the beginning

The closures announced at Acero Schools are a warning to workers in Chicago and beyond. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) faces a staggering $1 billion budget deficit. The lives of tens of thousands of students and their families hang in the balance, as schools are closed, jobs slashed and neighborhoods are left abandoned.

Closures and consolidations are on the agenda of officials across the US. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that public schools will lose $111 billion in revenue by 2028 due to state education cuts.

Seattle has proposed closing 21 schools to address a $100 million deficit, and only scaled it back to five after massive protests. In San Francisco, students have taken to the streets to protest the closure of Harvey Milk Elementary and 12 other schools. Last week, the Milwaukee Public Schools listed 13 schools to be closed. In Texas, where there are more than 5.5 million public school students, more than half of all school districts face budget shortfalls. 

The loss of ESSER funding, which temporarily propped up public schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, could lead to the loss of 384,000 full-time education jobs, according to education analyst Chad Aldeman. 

These attacks on public education expose the anti-social priorities of both capitalist parties. There is no shortage of money for the wars abroad, but when it comes to public schools, the refrain is always “there is no money.” While schools are being closed in working-class communities, the Biden administration has pledged billions to expand the US military, sending an unprecedented $23 billion missile defense system to support Israel’s genocide in Gaza and pouring billions more into the US-NATO war in Ukraine. 

The future the Democrats and Republicans are offering youth is not a high-quality education and a decent life but a military draft and war.    

AFT, CTU and the bipartisan war on public education 

In Chicago, the CTU has announced it will try to “bargain” with Acero management over the announced closures. Acero leadership is made up of Democratic Party operatives and business executives whose orientation to Acero is profit and not public education. Charter school educators are members of the CTU, but union leaders have collaborated with the privatization of the schools in creating two tiers of schools, accepting agreements for Acero and other charter educators at lower pay, longer hours and more difficult conditions, and isolating them from the broader struggle of CPS teachers.

The history of CTU’s leadership shows consistent collaboration with school closures and austerity. After betraying the historic teachers strike in 2012, the CTU worked hand-in-glove with former Democratic Mayor Rahm Emanuel to close 49 public elementary schools at the end of that same school year, primarily in black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

CTU and its parent union, the American Federation of Teachers, spent millions on the election of Brandon Johnson, a former CTU staffer, as mayor of Chicago. Johnson’s opponent in the 2023 runoff election was former CPS CEO Paul Vallas – dubbed by Forbes “Chainsaw Paul” for his approach to public budgets – a Democratic Party operative who collaborated openly with fascists and white supremacists in the course of the campaign.

The AFT promoted a fraudulent strategy of getting “friendly electeds” in office in order to affect education policy. But instead of defending public education, the Johnson administration is now overseeing the policy his supporters were told his election would be able to stop – the relentless assault on schools that is fully supported by both Democratic and Republican parties. The lessons of these experiences with the union bureaucracies and the Democratic Party must be drawn. 

The CTU will insist, as it has in the past, that its protests and bargaining will “soften the blow,” fundamentally defending the right of the ruling class to rob the future of public school students in order to fund war and protect their own profits.

The Socialist Equality Party denies the ruling class has any such right and encourages the independent initiative of educators, parents, teachers and workers across the region to come together to block the closure of schools in Chicago.

The socialist program to advance public education

The Socialist Equality Party rejects the notion that society “cannot afford” public education. The financial resources to guarantee a free, high-quality education for every child exist, but they are hoarded by the billionaires and the capitalist class, who have benefited from corporate bailouts and tax cuts while social programs are gutted.

We demand:

1. Full funding for public schools, not war! Billions must be redirected from the military and corporate bailouts to fund public education. No more cuts to schools and no more closures.

2. Living wages for educators: Educators deserve significantly higher wages that keep up with inflation, with secure pensions and healthcare. Educators have faced a cost of living crisis for more than two decades.

3. Safe and healthy schools: Schools must be equipped with adequate ventilation and sanitation to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other diseases, and free of vermin and mold.

4. Defend immigrant students and families. The defense of the rights of immigrant workers and families is necessary for the defense of the working class as a whole. 

5. Stop the privatization of education: End the privatization of public schools and redirect funds toward building public education infrastructure, including smaller class sizes and modernized facilities.

6. Mental health services for students: Public schools must provide universal healthcare and mental health support to address the ongoing crisis among young people.

In order to achieve these demands, teachers and students must mobilize the working class to fight for the social rights of the working class, including public education. Teachers, students, parents and workers must build independent rank-and-file committees, free from the control of the union bureaucracy, which is allied with the Democrats and big business.

The fight to defend public education is ultimately a fight against the capitalist system, which prioritizes profit over human need. It requires a socialist reorganization of society, where resources are used to uplift humanity, not squandered on war and exploitation.

We call on all educators, parents, students, and workers to join the Socialist Equality Party in fighting for a socialist program to defend public education. The time is now to break with the Democratic and Republican parties, both of which are hostile to the social rights of the working class, and to build a socialist movement for the expropriation of the financial oligarchy’s wealth to meet the needs of all.