Parents react to school closings with shock, tears

CHICAGO (AP) — Parents and grandparents of Chicago public school students are reacting to news their schools will be closed with shock, questions and tears.

Sandra Leon has two grandchildren at Lafayette Elementary on the city's West Side. She says the kids' teacher called Thursday morning to tell her the school was on the list to be closed. The teacher was crying.

Leon wiped away tears as she spoke outside the school, saying "This school is everything."

Quanisha Daniels' 3-year-old son attends preschool there.

She learned about the closure from a school employee, who stepped outside to break the news to parents picking up their kids. The employee said parents would receive more information later Thursday.

District officials say the closures are necessary because the district faces a $1 billion budget shortfall.