Boston School Closures = Pretext For Union Busting

The Boston School Committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to close more schools in order to offset a $63 million budget shortfall. Throughout the summer and fall, Boston School’s Chief, Carol Johnson, claimed that the ensuing closures were part of a reform effort to improve education. The project was euphemistically titled, “Redesign and Reinvest:  Our Path to Academic Success,” in an effort to cover up its true mission: to weaken the teachers union and put the squeeze on teachers’ autonomy and working conditions.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino called for greater power for principals, tying teacher pay to student performance, longer school days and major changes to the teacher evaluation system. Most significantly, the plan also seeks to open more charter schools, often in the shell of the ones that were shut down by the district..