>> Parents and teachers are pushing back over a plan to close 7 charter schools.

This after a settled charter network announced it would close 7 campuses.

But the end of the school year affecting more than 2000 students in 270 teachers settle claims declining enrollment rising personnel and facility costs along with the network facing a 40 million dollar deficit is leading to the closures.

But parents and teachers are fighting back calling for Chicago public schools to observe the closures here to share their thoughts.

Are they now, though that he gets gavel president of the Diego present parent committee in bilingual anniversary committee personal.

A tense on the angle under stir Coast One-a parent whose daughter 10 Sunset Hills Elementary and his wife also teaches there.

And Lucy Salgado who has 2 children at the Mayo Elementary.

We also invited a settle schools to join us, but they declined.

They sent a statement which we will get to shortly.

Well, thank you all for joining us.

I have to start off.

Let's go back to the day when us found out that they were closing the schools, they now start with you.

What was your initial thoughts?

So on Wednesday, October 9 executives, 706, many parents and a mission, this many teachers at the same time.

>> Got a text message on square parents saying that the school is closing.

I was reading the paper I'm not going to lie to started ice.

I started reading the paper when I my school name sent the Ebell a film like someone throw a bucket of ice water on me.

I foes and I started crying like a thing with my son.

He has an IP problem.

I was thinking what's going to happen with them?

And I was thinking, oh, my 224 students and my teachers, my family cause a lot of egg whites who was a citizen motions to this They didn't license a state to sit and I still because I cannot believe why they close in states.

wonderful schools.

And I want to go to your Web has been a teacher settles for 5 years.

Were there any previous conversations for the possibility of closures?

She was not aware just like And just want to see the text message.

>> We were watching it live on Facebook.

And it was a start dropping devastated.

You know, my wife was very upset.

Obviously, it's frustrating because you have a child and future that both, you know, to work together come home together.

So now we go from here, it's what's going to happen.

We don't know.

What about you.

What was your initial reaction was devastated?

My kids were crying.

They couldn't understand what was happening by.

>> Good do something wrong.

All the kids in for Miles are devastated and think it's their fight.

And we're trying to reassure them that.

As a parent, I'm gonna keep fighting as much as I can because I don't think it's fair.

give us any time and they just decided to close all schools, just like nothing say that schools and the turning like a second home.

It is a second home.

My sons of to stick when he was diagnosed, they told me he would not going to be my second grade.

He could done right.

tells you something that the school that the staff dedicated to what they do.

It's a small school where we're all very close together.

This Sarah bullying, it's item is 90% all the time full.

We have the greatest teachers there.

So it was really a shock.

I can I can feel the emotion in your in your voice vein as president sat down with paring committee.

What's the biggest concern parents have so far?

>> Were they going to put their kids said, well, they're going to tell the kids, like told you, like see mission from my school to it was really shocking.

Like a have mission in interviews.

I like talk us from a school.

You know.

We have so many questions.

I don't understand some of the things because my school, I mean, from all the schools, we have the highest attendance rate.

So that's not issue for us.

And Roman.

Most will find classes.

Have we missed in our classroom just today?

No one in Michigan's me fly was coming.

Chad.

We've got a text message today.

98.9 attendance rate mean only one student was sets.

And what does that tell The love this school Our parents are asking what is happening.

It was so said that parents fund Dow the next the that the school was closing for me.

It's like what's going to happen with my son?

What am I gonna take in there give enough time to find another school, someone who's going to help him with this site peak.

And you've been there for for 12 years.

Correct now the CEO of a settle said that the reason for the closing we heard our due to a variety of reasons from declining enrollment to financial issues.

>> Is that something that you observed at sundown?

To be honest, no.

>> I had on fatal.

Well, first of all, I want to say I have never met each biggest never met him in my life.

I only saw him once and he didn't even talk to him.

So what would make a decision when you have mess that the foot into the schools you don't know what is going on with with your schools.

You know, on day that he came to la school many times, he knows the I teachers when it comes to finances, their super clean about When it comes to New York to talk to parents that we clean.

But they're not.

They never talk to us.

They never never even mentioned that they planning on closing one school.

Do you feel the same way?

The lack of communication?

>> Yes, because again, all this was just dropped on everyone.

The day of and on my way for those work there, they were told there were rumors the day soul.

And again, the rumors were today a couple of schools and it went from And then again, you just see the names of the school on there.

We're talking about 2000 students.

I'm not sure what their plan is to relocate the students.

But from what I understood is that the other schools that are staying open can only fit 330 more students.

So you'll have to find talking about slicing 1700 students finding them new schools.

You neighborhoods.

>> you know this, the CTU President Stacy Davis, Gates issued a letter demanding CBS Web service cooled into the district to save them.

And they currently have a petition going.

What are your thoughts on that?

>> So obviously petitions to hope we are, you know, asking the CEO CPS.

But Martinez, We're holding him accountable.

He did say that no school closures under my watch.

Yesterday at the board meeting, he was asked about it about the status quo situation.

He said there was still in talks.

But again, as parents we've been calling emailing.

We haven't heard from kind in the dark.

>> And I want to go to You mention that your son isn't that individualized education program.

What impact do you think these closures will have on students like your son that need that probe?

There is not enough schools around 2 to house all these kids.

What an IEP tomorrow has 14% children that have an IEP.

All the schools going to be set rate is not a no special education teachers to cover all children.

I just I don't understand why would they go ahead and do something like that?

And they not a settled.

provides the statement saying they will be working with families right throughout the transition.

We also asked them about their communication about the financial status of the schools.

And here's a portion of it.

They're saying in part a settle schools addresses aboard a network.

Financial matters.

Enrollment issues about board meetings when the network has faced layoffs in made tradeoffs required of contract negotiations.

Those matters have been communicated.

But you're saying they have not been communiques into a meeting.

Yes, I have gone to meetings and I know a lot of people that have gone through this news.

And I just want to make this clear.

You guys are line.

You guys never ever communicated that with us.

And that's just one thing.

On the meeting.

They say they would good go live and updates on the page.

They haven't of the And so this just telling you those people, I just liars, they and these people who only thinking of themselves, they're not thinking over kits because most of their kids are in college so they don't care about the kids because they had never gone school.

So no, there was never no coming communication when you came to this.

And I just find a bit, you know, they say they were not going to close schools, but then again, they're closing 7 schools, not just one.

They says been 7 schools.

And what do you hope happens now?

There's a protest this week in, correct?

So what I'm hoping is, again, that they did not close the school that I see that we're all hoping for.

>> But just to come back to your statement, I think these financial situation that they're in end has been there since 2011, 2010.

This is not you.

They knew it all about it and they kept expanding.

They pride themselves on focusing on small And that's what makes it a good school.

That's what makes his nose, for example, a strong community citing a school you think of you had more come together to try to find how you can, of course, and again, during the moment just to them is, you know, you're saying low enrollment.

what are you doing to improve enrollment?

We're looking at the cup half half full.

We only have a couple seconds.

What's more?

last box?

We have a protest tomorrow at 3 o'clock.

>> I'm 50st in California.

Alderman Raymond Lopez will be there.

Alderman 14 will be there.

Ctu Union will be there come and support.

I say all that up.

Essential school.

Stand up.

Fight for your school.

I'll be not just a protest, but many more.

I'm gonna do whatever I can in my power as amount as a member of my community to fight as much as I can.

Thank you.

And I can definitely feel the passion.

NASA shared mine.

So Diego School, which is located 20 fights and west.

But we we are also having.

Approaches.

So please, I invite you to please all the people that live in the north.

Please come, please come.

And like I just want to make quick statement.

I