Angry showdown between protestors and the DOE over school closings

Thousands of students, parents, educators and community advocates rallied outside Brooklyn Technical HS on Jan. 26 in an impassioned appeal to the city’s Panel on Educational Policy not to approve the Department of Education’s proposal to close 19 schools.

Inside, over 300 people spoke in an extraordinary night of testimony that stretched till after 3 a.m. The proceedings provided an eloquent witness to the determination and dedication of educators, parents and students to fight for their schools and for the right of all students to an education.

In the end, nine PEP members (the eight mayoral appointees and the Staten Island representative) voted for the closures while the four representatives from Manhattan, Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn voted to oppose them.

“There is overwhelming opposition to these closings among parents, students, educators, administrators and community members,” UFT President Michael Mulgrew told the crowd. “These school communities are standing together — they want to be supported, not ignored or abandoned. Instead of focusing on closing schools, we should be focusing on fixing them.”

City Comptroller John Liu, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz were among the elected officials who addressed the crowd.