State Appeals Court Rules Against Closing 19 Schools

The First Judicial Department of the New York Appellate Division ruled 5-0 to keep the schools open.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the latest decision outrageous and accused the union of trying to save jobs at the expense of city students education.

"What it means is that there's a whole bunch of kids, that at least for one year, will get a terrible education that they will probably never recover from," said the mayor.

A city education panel voted on January 26 to close the schools because of poor performance, but the teachers union and the NAACP filed a lawsuit.