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These  mindless individuals on the panel should be put in jail.  

As a volunteer parent/student advocate for
Christopher Columbus High School (CCHS) and other at-risk schools — as well as
a public school parent — I am a true believer in the concept of education
reform.  Who can argue with the idea of making our schools centers of
academic excellence that offer educational opportunities for all children,
regardless of need, economic status or background?  Lately, however,
despite the rigorous efforts of parents, teachers and students, I find that a
day in the life of this city’s Education Reform Movement seems tilted in the
direction of advantage: in income, in class, in two-parent households, in
English-speaking families, in social status, in neighborhood, in gifted
intelligence, in absence of a prison record…

Scrutinize schools that are being closed, the
co-locations and teacher downsizing and you will see that due diligence has
been replaced by data evaluation with no regard to realities.   CCHS has
the highest rate of special needs kids in the city and has applied for charter
status to make it the only charter high school in the city.   The school -
headed by a principal trained in special education – boasts a remarkable
curriculum that meets the needs of ELLs, IES students, kids released from
prison, children in shelters and vocationally-directed kids.   Is it a
coincidence that this school as so many others slated for closure contains a
high number of minority children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds?
 

We cannot afford to turn deaf ears to an entire population in favor of
the middle class.  Squeezing several schools into one, shuttering others,
ousting dedicated teachers — these are not the objectives of wholesome reform.
 They are shortcuts.