**Written by Doug Powers
Here’s the latest news from the “for the children” side of the aisle that’s always accusing the right of being a threat to a quality public school education:
More than 300 public school staff members at Alexandria City, Virginia have requested leave for Wednesday, prompting the school to close its doors.
“Given the unusually high number of requests, this may be attributed to the observance of International Women’s Day. This day has also been deemed A Day Without Women. Consequently, ACPS has decided to close schools for students for the day,” Superintendent Alvin Crawley wrote on the system’s website.
“This is not a decision that was made lightly,” he added. “The decision is based solely on our ability to provide sufficient staff to cover all our classrooms, and the impact of high staff absenteeism on student safety and delivery of instruction. It is not based on a political stance or position.”
The decision means the closure of 16 schools within the system.
[…]
The Alexandria school system isn’t the only one closing Wednesday. Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools in North Carolina are also closing on the “Day Without a Woman.” Superintendent Jim Causby said due to the expected high number of absences, the day will be an optional teacher workday.
I call BS on the “not based on a political stance or position” claim. If Wednesday were “National March in Support of Trump Day” the rubber stamp for hundreds of vacation day requests on the same day would have somehow been misplaced.
The irony never ends:
Same crew that told me DeVos’ appointment would shut down public schools is shutting down public schools Wed. For the children. Noted.
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) March 7, 2017
Yep, remember recent panic pieces like this?
With DeVos’ confirmation, the entire country now must answer this question: If public education is an essential bedrock of our democracy, why are we undermining it?
Direct the question to several hundred (at least) public school teachers on Wednesday — they’ll have plenty of time to answer.
**Written by Doug Powers
Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
