CHICAGO – Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney says Chicago teachers are turning their backs on thousands of students and President Barack Obama is siding with the striking teachers.

Romney, in a statement released Monday hours before he was set to land in Chicago for fundraisers, says he is disappointed by the Chicago teachers' decision to walk out of negotiations. Romney says he sides with parents and students over unionized teachers.

Thousands of teachers walked off the job in Chicago's first schools strike in 25 years. The walkout by 26,000 teachers and support staff in the nation's third-largest school district affects almost 400,000 students.