Schools to close in Ferguson

[mystery-ak]

http://thehill.com/homenews/news/225037-schools-to-close-in-ferguson

By Ben Kamisar - 11/21/14 02:43 PM EST

A school district that includes part of Ferguson, Mo., will cancel classes next week in anticipation of a grand jury decision on whether to indict a police officer for killing an unarmed black teenager, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“With the heightened anxiety and activity, we thought it would be better for students and staff to extend the holiday at this point," Jennings School District superintendent Tiffany Anderson told the paper.

She added that most students walk to school because the district doesn’t provide school buses and that people had been approaching students on their walk home.
The system had already planned to close schools on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday, so school officials decided to give students the entire week off. That makes it more likely that students will be out of school when a grand jury decision is announced.

Multiple reports have suggested the grand jury will not indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Wilson, who is white, shot and killed Michael Brown, who was 18 and black, in an incident that sparked large-scale protests and calls to reevaluate how minorities are treated by police officers.

Many fear that the grand jury’s decision could incite more protests that could lead to clashes with police. Brown’s father, Michael Brown, Sr., urged supporters to remain calm once the decision is announced.

“I thank you for lifting your voices to end racial profiling and police intimidation,” he said. “But hurting others and destroying property is not the answer."

The Associated Press reported Friday that the grand jury is still meeting and does not have a public timeline for its announcement.

The Ferguson-area is served by three other school districts: Hazelwood, Riverview Gardens and Ferguson-Florissant. A spokeswoman for the Ferguson-Florissant School District said that it hasn’t decided to close schools, in part because there’s no telling when the grand jury announcement will come.

[truth_seeker]

Cancelling school, to attend the riots? More like: the districts get money based on attendance. The kids were going to skip school when the riots start, so this way the district does not lose revenue.

Will they be required to make up these lost days, at the end of the term?

[musiclady]

Wouldn't it be better to have these anxious kids in school and occupied than at home or roaming the streets??

Sheesh!  Bad call.   

[ABX]

Wouldn't schools be closed next week for Thanksgiving anyway?

[musiclady]

Wouldn't schools be closed next week for Thanksgiving anyway?

Wednesday through Friday.

They're adding Monday and Tuesday.

[mountaineer]

We read here several days ago that other school districts in the St. Louis area that are nowhere near Ferguson, e.g., Kirkwood, are preparing for bad behavior after the grand jury rules. Police in every city in America need to prepare.

Pittsburgh activists planning peaceful rallies after Ferguson decision
November 19, 2014 11:27 PM
By Jonathan D. Silver / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


Pittsburgh activists waiting to see whether a grand jury in Ferguson, Mo., will indict a white police officer for fatally shooting an unarmed black teen plan to rally Downtown whatever the decision as a sign of solidarity and to draw attention to the issue of police brutality.

But even as local community organizers predicted peaceful protests, Pittsburgh police are preparing for the possibility of violence.

Following the August shooting of Michael Brown, 18, by Officer Darren Wilson, police in Ferguson deployed tear gas and smoke bombs while clashing with demonstrators, some of whom threw Molotov cocktails.

Partly in preparation for the Ferguson decision, which is expected soon, Pittsburgh acting police Chief Cameron McLay is requiring most personnel to work 12-hour shifts through Dec. 2., freeing up a shift’s worth of officers to be available to deal with crowds rather than respond to routine calls. The chief said officers will also receive refresher training on handling crowds in a way that protects people’s First Amendment rights.

“If anyone asks me, do I think that we’re going to have Ferguson-like violence here in Pittsburgh, I think no,” Chief McLay said Wednesday.

“I don’t think that we’re going to look at that broad scale of violence. Does that mean as police chief I would be wise in not developing a plan for that kind of ... violence? I’m here to tell you it is my responsibility.”

While Chief McLay keeps a wary eye on Ferguson, local community organizers have been coordinating with activists there. ...

Rest of story