Protesters clash over school closings

IF the protesters feel so strongly about the schools, WHY do they have to be paid $25 ? Several have admitted that they did it just for the money, not even knowing what they were protesting. One young man who went to the Crane hearing back on Jan. 6 didn't even know he was going to Crane, his own high school. These stories were presented to the IL Task Force members , who could not believe these "games" were being played.
Violence finally erupted on Jan. 20th - more is sure to follow. This nonsense needs to stop. Yes, anyone can go to a meeting that wants to. But NO ONE should be paid to be there.

Whatever happened to teachers being a vital part of our community? There used to be a time when preachers and teachers stood side by side to ensure that we all got the best we could. Now we are giving the enemy "The Chicago School Board" exactly what they want! It's divide and conquer the oldest trick in the book. Of course our schools are failing! Their funding is based on a system set up to fail and that affects resources. Come on people use your brain. If Banks give high risk mortgages in communities of color then people can no longer afford their mortgages and get foreclosed on it affects the tax base that supports the schools which means your child doesn't get the latest Science book, instead they get one that is 3 editions old. It's very simple when you do the math. They are crying about the system being so broke, then all of a sudden they can find money for schools who extend their school day? Where was that money when we needed to put resources into the schools so our kids wouldn't fail? Someone is failing us and in this case it is the Preachers and School Board, not the overworked and underappreciated TEACHERS!

@Bruno, we are talking about hiring people who have no knowledge or interest in the issue being paid to POSE as protesters. That's not equivalent to hiring buses to transport actual advocates.

Who pays for all the buses to go to Springfield to insist on ever increasing taxes for education waste and bureaucracy? The protests AGAINST school closings are ginned up by those defending the status quo, so why shouldn't people organize in favor closing schools?

What is controversial about shutting down an under-performing school, and, if it controversial, why shouldn't both sides be able to use political grandstanding and competing parent groups to promote their respective policies.

What lazy journalism not to find out whether the supposed protesters are being paid, rather than just saying "some allege." There's video of some of the fake protesters not knowing the name of the school for whose shutdown they're calling for. Reporters need to step up and do their jobs.

For a minister to claim that a failing school is full of failing teachers is rather judgmental and not helpful in the dialogue. It makes me wonder if the minister is running a private school nearby.

I don't think that all school problems should be pinned on poorly performing teachers. They're ALL that bad? Are they less educated than teachers in better performing schools? No. How can we expect to thoroughly educate kids in a school rife with behavioral problems? Or where many students don't have academic support at home? School problems go beyond teachers, who in their own right, want to succeed. Extending the school day may keep kids off the streets a little longer, but it doesn't solve the underlying social problems these kids face, which usually trump school in the end. Poverty, self-worth, teen-pregnancy, violence...these things rotate on a generational wagon wheel. My thought is that schools won't improve unless social problems improved first.

Or maybe I'm totally wrong, who knows.