Hundreds of students walked out of their classes at several Chicago high schools Monday to protest budget cuts and teacher layoffs at Chicago Public Schools.
Students from Roosevelt High School, Carl Schurz High School and Foreman High School participated in the protest.
Some held signs that read, “If you care, then be fair” and “education without limitation.”
Chicago Public Schools said in a statement that it shares the students’ concerns about “declining state funding and rising pension mandates that are forcing difficult cuts.”
“But rather than leave school, which hurts themselves and their fellow students, we encourage them to direct their activism to Springfield, where CPS is fighting for pension equity and for the state to prioritize education funding so that we are no longer last in the nation,” the statement read.
CPS said on the 20th day of every school year, schools make budget adjustments based on enrollment. A total of 95 teachers are being laid off, along with 57 support personnel.
The agency also noted that Roosevelt’s enrollment was down 183 students from last year, and 323 students from 2012. Schurz was down 278 from last year and Foreman’s was down 215 students from last year.
