An Examination of Chicago School Closings, Neoliberal Governance, and Democracy

• In Event: Neoliberal Education Reform: The Ongoing Laboratories in Chicago and Chile

Abstract

Objective. In this paper, I examine neoliberal governance in public education, specifically the impact of school closings on democratic participation during a historic period in Chicago’s neoliberal education agenda—the record closure of 50 public schools in May 2013. Because of public denunciations that past closing decisions were undemocratic, former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Byrd-Bennett claimed the process to determine which schools to close in 2013 would be different from years past, asserting “no steps will be taken until we have rebuilt trust with the community by engaging them in an inclusive, open and transparent manner” (CPS, 2012). Ultimately, this CPS community engagement process included more than 200 community meetings and hearings, and “allowed over 34,000 members of the school community to provide feedback” (CPS, 2013). Despite expanded opportunities for public input, parents from affected schools believed the decision to close 50 schools was on “the drawing board long before we even had a hint of it” (Lipman, Vaughan, & Gutierrez, 2014, pg. 23). I aim: 1) to make sense of this contradiction between CPS democratic processes and the experiences of parents and their families and communities; 2) to illuminate how neoliberal governance in education shape parents’ citizen subjectivities and how the legitimacy of neoliberal governance is challenged by the democratic engagement of parents and communities.
Theoretical Framework. I situate school closings within the context of neoliberal education reforms drawing from the work of Lipman (2011), Apple (2006) and Harvey (2005). I theorize neoliberal governance in public education drawing from Lipman’s (2013) theorization of coercive neoliberal governance in public education, Foucault’s theory of governmentality (Foucault et al, 1991), and Brown’s (2003) theories of neoliberal governmentality and citizenship.
Methods. In this qualitative study, I conduct semi-structured interviews with parents from 2013 closed schools and analyze publicly available CPS and community data. I write fieldnotes of CPS community hearings and board meetings I attend, and transcribe and analyze other relevant CPS meetings recorded for the public record. I use AtlasTI qualitative data analysis software to find common themes across data sources.
Data Sources. Sources include: 21 transcribed interviews with parents; CPS official transcripts of 2013 school closing hearings and meetings, performance data, press releases, and board reports; depositions from a school closings injunction; news reports; field notes of CPS and community meetings.
Findings and significance. While the 2013 CPS school closings process was more extensive than previous closing decisions, I find the impact of this process was to contain dissent, and maintain legitimacy through a performance of democracy. I also find community contestations challenge the dominance of neoliberal governance in CPS, forcing the district to adapt its community processes to continue its neoliberal agenda. Understanding the structures of neoliberal governance and community engagement in public education is critical to strengthening democracy in education, a central aim of public schools. This study has relevance beyond the Chicago context as more urban school districts shutter public schools as part of the neoliberal restructuring of the public school system.

Author

• Rhoda Rae Gutierrez, University of Illinois at Chicago