Time for a Moratorium on School Closings

Given the disruptions in the lives of poor and working class people that are about to ensue through the mandatory budget cuts likely to go into effect on March 1 ( that have been labeled "sequestering") which include cuts in housing subsidies, food aid, and vital health services, along with layoffs of government employees, the US Department of Education should call for an immediate cessation of School Closings mandated by its Race to the Top Program. How much destabilization can our most hard hit communities take at one time? I fear for the safety of children and families living in those areas. More hunger, more homelessness, more sickness, coupled with the loss of neighborhood institutions which have provided "safe zones" is a toxic combination. This is what happens when Ideology trumps humanity and common sense, a phenomenon which has afflicted Democrats as well as Republicans when it comes to education policy.