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Waukegan students walk out - gmg77 - 03-26-2010
This made the Chicago news. Good to see the students take action. To bad officials canceled the parade in retaliation.
Waukegan students walk out to protest teacher layoffs
March 26, 2010 4:43 PM
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More than 200 Waukegan High School students walked out of school for a little over an hour this morning to protest the looming layoff of more than 500 teachers.
More might have taken part in the demonstration if school administrators hadn't ordered a "soft lockdown" at the high school's two campuses when they learned a demonstration was under way.
The school district also announced that a parade and celebration planned for later Friday honoring Waukegan High School's basketball team, which placed third in the state Class 4A basketball tournament this month, was cancelled, apparently as a result of the demonstration.
The event was cancelled "because of concerns about safety," said Nicholas Alajakis, a school spokesman.
The protest began around 11 a.m. when students at the Washington Street Campus at Washington and Jackson streets started walking the halls and chanting their support for teachers threatened with dismissal, Alajakis said.
The students, some carrying signs, circled the main building before marching to the high school's Brookside Campus, about a mile and a half west. The demonstrators marched around the Brookside building.
Witnesses said it appeared few if any students from Brookside joined the march.
No passes are issued allowing students to leave high school buildings under a soft lockdown, Alajakis said. The measure was known as a "Code White" last year.
After circling the Brookside building, students marched back to the Washington Street Campus. Students were back in classes or dispersed by about 12:15 p.m., authorities said.
There were no arrests made, said Waukegan police Lt. Edward Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the department. "We had officers there to watch and see if there were any problems. There weren't any," he said.
Some 560 school employees, mainly teachers, have been given "reduction in force" notices. The pink slips mean the employees could be laid off next fall if the district fails to reach new agreements with its unions or the state fails to come through with funding, according to school officials.
The 17,000-student unit district has about 2,000 employees in kindergarten through 12th grade, including 1,300 teachers.
The Waukegan Unit School District is on the state's Financial Watch List. The district is facing a gap of about $10 million between expected revenues and expenses for the 2010-2011 fiscal year, according to Jules Gaudin, deputy superintendent and chief financial officer for the district. The figure represents about 8 percent of this year's total school budget.
-- Ralph Zahorik
Re: Waukegan students walk out - JazminH - 03-26-2010
If only the teachers would stand up for the student. Nope ot in their contract. Give me my tenure and leave me alone.
Re: Waukegan students walk out - WaukTalk75 - 03-26-2010
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Re: Waukegan students walk out - ClassicalLib17 - 03-26-2010
Remediation? Ah, a Maoist policy of internment and reeducation to satisfy the apparatchiks. I'm going to blame all of our social and economic problems on Glenn Beck. That should provide a rallying point for the American Federation of Teachers. But seriously, I am sure we are going to lose some good future teachers in this layoff. I also understand that we still suffer from "The Shipley Effect."
Re: Waukegan students walk out - WaukTalk75 - 03-26-2010
Shipley Effect? Please educate me. And secondly, i don't think I was blaming anyone of anything. I was simply stating that many teachers in this district work very hard............. and a few don't and administrators lack the talent and the skill to weed them out.
Re: Waukegan students walk out - ClassicalLib17 - 03-26-2010
Our former school board president, Fernando Shipley. If you work for the district I am sure you have heard of him. The insiders have described his term of office-- to be nice-- a disaster fraught with mismanagement and nepotism. Once again, not my words.
Re: Waukegan students walk out - Penguin40 - 03-26-2010
[quote="gmg77"]This made the Chicago news. Good to see the students take action. To bad officials canceled the parade in retaliation.
I received a recorded call tonight stating they are going to review the video tapes and find out who all was involved in the walk-out and they will be punished. Basically, if they come forward they will serve a detention on Tuesday at 9am. (didn't say for how long) and they said something else after that but my phone was in and out so I didn't catch it all...anyone else know??
Re: Waukegan students walk out - ClassicalLib17 - 03-27-2010
"Good to take action?" meanwhile 75% of our high school students are now traditionally failing the state high school exam. Catch Bill Maher's March 26 show on HBO and listen to the President of the American Federation of Teachers revealing point of view and then tell us what you think now.
Re: Waukegan students walk out - bruce - 03-28-2010
Typical of Batiste, Lamping, and Hamlin to punish the kids. Im sure Hamlin isnt being punished for spending 55,000 on his buddys book (maui) That is now sitting in some storage closet and never used.
Re: Waukegan students walk out - WaukTalk75 - 03-28-2010
I