By Steve Gunn
EAGnews.org

CHICAGO – The Chicago school district is facing a $1 billion deficit, largely due to runaway labor costs, and it has dozens of school buildings that are only half full of students.

So nobody should be shocked by the city’s plan to close 54 schools next fall and relocate their students to different facilities.

MORE NEWS: From Classroom to Consulate Chef: Culinary Student Lands Dream Job at U.S. Embassy in Paris

That plan will be voted on by the Chicago Board of Education Tuesday night, according to the Huffington Post. The vote will measure the board’s ability to implement sound policy in the face of irrational opposition.

The radical Chicago Teachers Union hates the school closure plan because it will almost certainly lead to a number of teacher layoffs. Laid-off teachers don’t pay union dues, and the union is all about maintaining its revenue.

But instead of being honest about the real reason for their opposition, union leaders have been beating the drum about the supposedly unsafe walk many students will have to make every day to more distant schools. That kind of talk has gotten parents riled up to the point where there’s significant opposition to the school closure plan.

That opposition will be out in force in three separate marches on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, leading up to the school board’s vote, according to the news report. The CTU is billing the three-day event as the “mother of all marches.”

The public protests will provide a crucial test of leadership for the Board of Education. Will board members have the courage to do what’s right for the cash-strapped district, or will they once again cower to union demands (like they did last fall during the teachers strike) and lose the chance to put a dent in the massive budget deficit?

There will be shrieks of anger and calls for political retribution if the board ignores the protesters and approves the plan. That’s all right. Real leaders know when it’s time to ignore the will of the misled public and pursue sound policies. If they have to pay the price at the ballot box, so be it.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

That was the point of John F. Kennedy’s famous novel “Profiles in Courage,” which credited many leaders throughout American history who bucked popular sentiment in favor of doing the right thing.

The financial situation for Chicago Public Schools has clearly reached the crisis point, and somebody has to do something to stop the bleeding. The school board must take this step to save dollars, and to show that it will no longer be bullied by the self-serving, obnoxious teachers union.