Chicago Public School Boycott

[southsider2k5]

I will post some stories about the situation, and I would be curious to hear what people think about it?

 

http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/110...l081108.article

 

Meeks solicits support for school boycott plan

 

August 12, 2008

Recommend (20)

 

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter

 

State Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago) met privately with the City Council's Black Caucus last week to explain his plan to have hundreds of Chicago Public School students boycott the first four days of classes.

 

Implied, but not stated, was the fact that Meeks would like aldermanic support for his controversial tactics. Apparently, he's not going to get it.

 

State Sen. Rev. James Meeks calls on parents to keep their children home on the first day of school and try to enroll them in schools in Winnetka to protest the way schools are funded in the state.

 

On Tuesday, the Black Caucus will hold a news conference to turn up the heat on Gov. Blagojevich and the General Assembly to address the school funding disparity between rich and poor districts.

 

But, the aldermen will not take a stand on Meeks’ boycott threat.

 

“We can’t take an official position. We didn’t have a consensus. All of us want our children in school. That's really the bottom line," said Ald. Freddrenna Lyle (6th).

 

"No one is telling him he shouldn't do this--that it's a wrong, horrible thing. But, people are concerned about what happens to children if they're not in school. Community activists have leeway to do things that a legislator does not. Everybody doesn’t have to do the same thing.”

 

Education Committee Chairman Latasha Thomas (17th) added, “We need to address the same thing he’s trying to address. We need to do it our way. Our way is pushing the Legislature for radical reform of the state funding formula. I’m focussing on the Legislature. I’m not even talking about what he’s doing. I didn’t say I was for it or against it.”

 

Th pastor of a huge South Side church, Meeks put the best possible face on the aldermanic fence-sitting.

 

“I would be disappointed if they spoke out against the boycott. To not speak out against the boycott is to speak in favor of it,” he said.

 

As for Mayor Daley and Board of Education President Rufus Williams, who support his message and not his tactics, Meeks said, “How can you be angry about the tactics and not be angry about the disparity in funding? The disparity has taken place for 30 years. The tactic is one day old.”

 

On the first day of school, Sept. 2, Meeks plans to bus students up to the North Shore and attempt to enroll them in schools in Winnetka’s wealthy New Trier district.

 

The remaining three days—Sept. 3, 4 and 5—will be spent having boycotting students camp out in the lobbies of Chicago’s most prominent downtown businesses. They include the Chicago Stock Exchange, the Mercantile Exchange, Chase Bank, Fifth Third Bank and the Aon Building.

 

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_...-backs-law.html

 

Daley backs lawsuit against state on school funding

 

Mayor Richard Daley said Thursday he supports the Chicago Urban League's lawsuit against the state to alter the education funding system in Illinois, calling it a "very constructive" attempt to bring about change.

 

The suit filed Wednesday alleges that the state discriminates against black and Hispanic children because it relies too heavily on local property taxes to fund education. Schools in poorer minority communities – such as Chicago – receive funding at a dramatically lower rate than affluent white school districts.

 

"I think it's a good lawsuit," Daley said.

 

Daley has repeatedly expressed his frustration with state leaders who have not passed legislation to change the way Illinois pays for schools. The mayor wants a reduction of real estate taxes and an income tax increase to pay for schools---a plan that's been around for decades but never won enough backing in Springfield.

 

"They have been talking about this for 25 years," he said. "It's not good for Illinois in the long run … Other states have done this … Other states have been very successful in these lawsuits, and we think we can be here."

 

Daley joked that the courts should mandate school funding change because "they mandate everything else." A federal judge appointed a monitor to police city hiring in 2005 amid a patronage hiring scandal in Daley’s office.

 

Daley again dismissed calls by some ministers for a boycott of schools on the first day of classes to protest the lack of a school funding change.

 

"You cannot use children as part of this issue, in regards to not going to school," the mayor said. "We have a difficult time convincing parents to get their kids to school on the first day."

 

Daley said the lawsuit is a "much wiser" approach than a boycott.

 

http://www.suntimes.com/news/education/113...s090208.article

 

Rev. Meeks leads school boycott; group heads to New Trier

 

September 2, 2008

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BY ROSALIND ROSSI AND MAUDLYNE IHEJIRIKA

 

The first of an expected 2,000 Chicago public school students protesting education funding arrived at New Trier High School in Northfield late this morning.

 

As 9-year-old Darius Roosevelt stepped off the school bus, he was immediately greeted by Ken Bley, a New Trier alumnus and parent of two New Trier graduates.

 

You're welcome here,Ó Bley said, extending his hand to Darius who seemed a little overwhelmed by the attention.

 

As four buses pulled into New Trier’s Northfield campus parking lot, half a dozen parents of former and current New Trier students waved signs. One sign read: “We can all learn something today.” Another read: “All kids need good schools.”

 

Students from one arriving bus shouted out of the windows: “We love you, New Trier!”

 

The Chicago students will attempt to register for classes today to protest a lack of funding at their own schools.

 

When asked why he was at New Trier, Darius said: “Uh, I forgot.”

 

But his mother, Aquanetta Jones, had an immediate response: “I’m here today to fight for better education for our children, for more resources, more books, more funding.”

 

One New Trier student, who attends the school’s Winnetka campus, described the boycott as “a big publicity stunt.”

 

“They are trying to make it racial,” said New Trier senior, Andrew Scherer, 17. “It’s a better media story.”

 

Earlier this morning, hundreds of parents toting children filed into the House of Hope church on the South Side, preparing for the bus trip north to New Trier High School to protest school funding.

 

Dozens of school buses lined the drive of the church as local and national media filled the parking lot. Inside the church, a sea of volunteers in orange T-shirts reading “Save Our Schools Now” registered families and assigned them to buses.

 

“I had to be part of this,” said Joshua Laurence, 52, who was there with his wife Emily and three sons. “It’s time that parents in Chicago stood up and took a stand. Today we are saying no more miseducating our children. We do not want to be second-class citizens anymore.”

 

Another parent, Patricia Tillman, felt it was important to have her sons — fifth grade twins Joshua and Joseph Mosley — and her nephew Kendell Joiner, also a fifth-grader, join the boycott.

 

“I’m here because our kids need better schools and better-equipped schools. Just the very basics, like supplies. Is it too much to ask for the same thing as the suburban schools have? My sons’ school (Burnham Anthony elementary) doesn’t even have a gym. He’s gifted and exceeds the standards every year. But they can’t challenge him. All they do is keep telling me to enter the lottery for a magnet school. So I do every year and nothing. I’m sick of it.”

 

The pastor of the church, the Rev. James Meeks, says he hopes 2,000 students will skip school today and travel to wealthy Winnetka to protest school-funding inequities in Illinois. The children will try to register at New Trier High School’s Northfield Campus.

 

At the campus this morning, New Trier students voiced support for the boycott on their way into class.

 

“I support them 100 percent,” said Blair Fracke, 14. “I agree with their statement.”

 

A huge sign made by New Trier students was pasted to the windows of the school: “Welcome to New Trier, CPS students.”

 

About a hundred staff and volunteers stood ready inside the Northfied campus building to process students. A red plastic temporary fence was erected at the north end of the campus to separate the expected crush of reporters away from the CPS students. Cookies and refreshments provided by New Trier Parents Association awaited the protesters in the gym and auditorium.

 

New Trier spokeswoman Laura Blair was working until 9 p.m. Monday preparing for the students from Chicago. “I will be happy when it’s over,” Blair said. “We just want to make sure the day goes smoothly.”

 

Some kids clearly were getting a kick from all the attention.

 

“I think it’s going to be fun,” said a freshman boy who was shooed into the school by a crossing guard. “It will not be like any other school day. . . It’s for a very good cause.”

 

Another freshman, Ilanah Taves, 14, said she would be protesting if she were a Chicago public school student. “I probably would because it definitely makes a statement. . . .There’s not enough funding (for schools). I think that’s terrible.”

 

Taves’ mother, Susan Taves, sided with her daughter — in part.

 

“There’s a great deal of disparity in education,” Susan Taves said. “We need to do something about it. I’m not sure keeping kids out of school is the right approach.”

 

Said New Trier school district President James Koch: “It’s wonderful Rev. Meeks is bringing attention to this issue, but I don’t support taking kids out of school.”

 

Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan is “staunchly opposed” to the boycott, saying it would “disrespect our teachers and the hard work they’re doing.”

 

A fact sheet distributed by New Trier Township High School District 203 explained the complicated funding formula in Illinois, which relies heavily on property taxes to support schools. According to the fact sheet, the New Trier school district property wealth per student is $1.125 million compared to $150,000 in Chicago.

 

Schools with lower property wealth receive a higher proportion of funding from state sources. As a result, according to the New Trier district, its schools get 96 percent of its revenue from local sources compared to 48 percent in Chicago. Conversely, according to New Trier, its district gets only 3 percent of its revenue from the state, while Chicago gets 35 percent from the state.

 

The facts above are listed not to defend New Trier's expenditures or minimize Chicago's problems, but to demonstrate the complexities of school funding and the difficulty of finding a solution that works in every district,” New Trier school district Superintendent Linda Yonke wrote in the fact sheet.

 

Yonke said Tuesday morning that Meeks’ school funding bill, which would offer some property tax relief but increased income tax to support schools, “is an interesting solution to explore.”

 

Yonke pointed out that there are school funding inequities that affect districts across the state, not just in Chicago.

 

“We all need to talk about it together,” she said. “Every parent has to realize this impacts all of us.”

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationw...0,2360735.story

 

Wake-up call for Sen. Meeks

 

By Eden Martin

September 2, 2008

 

Sen. James Meeks (D-Chicago) wants more money for Chicago Public Schools and points out that New Trier High School District 203 spends more money per pupil than Chicago. Here are a few observations:

 

1. CPS today spends more money per pupil than most school districts in Illinois. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, in 2007 the average Illinois school district spent about $9,900 per pupil while CPS spent about $11,000. In fact, among unit school districts, those that include both elementary and high schools, CPS was in the top 5 percent in terms of its operating expenditures per pupil.

 

2. Some districts, like New Trier, spend more than $9,900 per pupil. Others spend a lot less. One reason that New Trier spends more is that the district includes only high schools. High schools tend to be more expensive than elementary schools. High school districts in Illinois spend an average of $12,700 per pupil, substantially more than unit or elementary school districts.

 

3. Among high school districts, New Trier's $17,500 per-pupil spending makes it No. 7 out of 100 high school districts in Illinois. Any requirement that districts spend the same amount would force districts like New Trier and Chicago to lower spending. Worse, such a requirement would take away from local districts the ability to decide for themselves how much to spend and how much to tax themselves to improve their schools.

 

4. If Chicago were somehow given more money to spend on schools, in the short-run nothing would happen to teachers' pay, because their salaries are set for the next four years by the terms of the current labor agreement. In the longer run, nothing would happen except that Chicago would pay most of the same teachers more money to teach the same subjects in the same way—without quality controls, without pay differentiation based on merit, without the ability to replace bad teachers. Education would not be improved. But the teachers union would be happy. The union would collect teachers' dues and continue to make healthy contributions to the campaign funds of their favorite politicians on both sides of the aisle. Life would go on as usual, it would just cost a little more.

 

5. We want to improve Chicago's schools as much as Sen. Meeks. But improving the city's public schools requires more than money. It requires breaking up the monopoly. It requires choice on the part of school families, and competition among schools for students and the government dollars they bring. Charter schools generally outperform traditional CPS schools in their neighborhoods. Choice and competition will motivate school principals and teachers to focus on getting better results. Choice will result in rewarding school employees when they succeed, and weeding them out when they fail. It will make people accountable. Trying to improve the schools by feeding the monopoly more money is a mistake. It hasn't worked, and it won't work. Worse, it's a mistake that diverts attention from what will work.

 

Eden Martin is president of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

[NorthSideSox72]

School funding is one of those things that every politician likes to talk about, but no one wants to actually touch. Problem is, you can't fix the school system without fixing the funding.

 

Being a New Trier grad myself, I'm embarrassed to say, I think these students and educators and parents all make a valid point. The way school funding is currently handled, the poor stay poor, and the rich stay rich (in general). Savage Inequalities, as the book title goes.

 

[Soxy]

My sister has taught in Wheaton (where she is currently) and also at Hope Wall (in Aurora), and she fully supports the kids that are boycotting. After hearing her stories about the disparities just within those two suburban districts, I understand the boycott too.

 

But I have no idea how to fix the problem.

[StrangeSox]

I understand the message, but I cannot agree with anyone who is encouraging children to skip school to make their political points.

 

I also tend to agree with that last article by Eden Martin. More funding does not mean more success, and many school districts do more with less than what the CPS gets. Why should a student who's family has done well have their education capped off because of someone else?

Edited September 3, 2008 by StrangeSox

[EvilMonkey]

I understand the message, but also cannot agree to keeping kids out of school. At least until the system is fixed, by not having them there the first day, they will be deprivng the school of even more money. Attendance is used in funding formulas, and first days count alot.

 

As for the rest, mixed feelings. Education disparities are vast. But part of the reason I moved where I did was to get my kid into a good school. I busted my ass to get here for them. My real estate taxes from old house to this one went up 500%. Lines like this make me want to tell them to fix thier own house first "In fact, among unit school districts, those that include both elementary and high schools, CPS was in the top 5 percent in terms of its operating expenditures per pupil". Money isn't the issue. Or isn't the ONLY issue. Meeks should find a way to get more parents involved, and to change the perception that getting good grades in school is 'acting white'. I heard that phrase even back in MY high school days.

[NorthSideSox72]

I understand the message, but also cannot agree to keeping kids out of school. At least until the system is fixed, by not having them there the first day, they will be deprivng the school of even more money. Attendance is used in funding formulas, and first days count alot.

 

As for the rest, mixed feelings. Education disparities are vast. But part of the reason I moved where I did was to get my kid into a good school. I busted my ass to get here for them. My real estate taxes from old house to this one went up 500%. Lines like this make me want to tell them to fix thier own house first "In fact, among unit school districts, those that include both elementary and high schools, CPS was in the top 5 percent in terms of its operating expenditures per pupil". Money isn't the issue. Or isn't the ONLY issue. Meeks should find a way to get more parents involved, and to change the perception that getting good grades in school is 'acting white'. I heard that phrase even back in MY high school days.

While I agree that people should feel proud that they earned good schooling for their kids, there is an important aspect to be considered here. People who grow up poor, have poor schools. They are then automatically put at a disadvantage to start with. So they don't have a level playing field, to go get those better houses and better schools.

 

Also, we are not talking about private schools here - these are public schools. If we are going to have public schools at all, shouldn't they be eminently fair? Because they aren't right now.

 

And the idea that more money doesn't necessarily mean better schools is true, but the correlation is pretty strong. More money sure helps.

 

[EvilMonkey]

While I agree that people should feel proud that they earned good schooling for their kids, there is an important aspect to be considered here. People who grow up poor, have poor schools. They are then automatically put at a disadvantage to start with. So they don't have a level playing field, to go get those better houses and better schools.

 

Also, we are not talking about private schools here - these are public schools. If we are going to have public schools at all, shouldn't they be eminently fair? Because they aren't right now.

 

And the idea that more money doesn't necessarily mean better schools is true, but the correlation is pretty strong. More money sure helps.

I went to a poor school, and the sysytem I left was one of the lowest funded grade school systems in the state. Yet they still managed to teach. I disagree that the money is an automatic disadvantage. Chicago is in the top tier of spending. How much more money should they get? I agree that public school funding is not quite right. But try convincing the people in naperville that the several thousands of dollars they spend on property taxes should go to help pay for Chicago school teachers. A tax revolt would happen pretty fast.

[Texsox]

Missing a few days of school at 9 years of age, if it brings about the changes mentioned, will do much much more for that child's education. Boycotts have been a time honored method of protesting.

 

And yes, great teachers can overcome poor resources, but great teachers with great resources are even better. And why would great teachers choose to teach in a resource poor school system? There are some angels that will, but top teachers gravitate towards the top schools. Trying to teach Social Studies with outdated text books is just wrong. Yet that is what some poor districts are forced to do.

 

Sadly, some of those schools that spend a lot of money are spending it on non educational items like security.

[NorthSideSox72]

I went to a poor school, and the sysytem I left was one of the lowest funded grade school systems in the state. Yet they still managed to teach. I disagree that the money is an automatic disadvantage. Chicago is in the top tier of spending. How much more money should they get? I agree that public school funding is not quite right. But try convincing the people in naperville that the several thousands of dollars they spend on property taxes should go to help pay for Chicago school teachers. A tax revolt would happen pretty fast.

I agree that's a tough or impossible sell, and I agree that money is not an automatic advantage or disadvantage. But I ALSO think that money isn't irrelevant - its a factor.

 

[EvilMonkey]

I agree that's a tough or impossible sell, and I agree that money is not an automatic advantage or disadvantage. But I ALSO think that money isn't irrelevant - its a factor.

Wow, then we agree. But next question, how much is enough? it has already been pointed out that Chicago spends way up near the top per pupil, but ranks well below many other schools spending less.

[NorthSideSox72]

Wow, then we agree. But next question, how much is enough? it has already been pointed out that Chicago spends way up near the top per pupil, but ranks well below many other schools spending less.

Chicago does not spend "way up near the top" per pupil. New Trier, for example, spends something like 5 times as much per student as some city high schools. I read that in the Kozol book, and other places since, but don't have a link, or know the exact number.

 

[EvilMonkey]

Chicago does not spend "way up near the top" per pupil. New Trier, for example, spends something like 5 times as much per student as some city high schools. I read that in the Kozol book, and other places since, but don't have a link, or know the exact number.

The last article that was posted contained this:

while CPS spent about $11,000. In fact, among unit school districts, those that include both elementary and high schools, CPS was in the top 5 percent in terms of its operating expenditures per pupil

. That would put them near the top. Sure, New Trier blows them away, but there are still many schools doing more with less.

 

[southsideirish71]

My sister has taught in Wheaton (where she is currently) and also at Hope Wall (in Aurora), and she fully supports the kids that are boycotting. After hearing her stories about the disparities just within those two suburban districts, I understand the boycott too.

 

But I have no idea how to fix the problem.

 

There is a slight disparity in what I pay in real estate taxes compared to the average Chicago resident.

[NorthSideSox72]

The last article that was posted contained this:

. That would put them near the top. Sure, New Trier blows them away, but there are still many schools doing more with less.

Sorry, I should be more clear - that is 5% in Illinois, which is a silly statistic. The Chicago metro has a very different economy than the rest of the state. I'd imagine CPS is more like middle ground for Chicago metro school districts (but I can't say for sure).

 

Have to admit though, now that I look at that number, its a lot larger percentage of New Trier's (for comparison) than it was in the 80's or 90's when Kozol's book was written. I wonder if its that CPS has grown so much in spending, or other districts have slowed spending growth, or both.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

There is a slight disparity in what I pay in real estate taxes compared to the average Chicago resident.

Chicago property taxes are out of control. We are selling our 2 BR condo in the city, looking at 4 BR houses in nice suburbs with very good schools. And yet, we are looking at our property taxes probably going down, or staying the same at worst.

 

But that is more than just school money.

 

[Steff]

Sorry, I should be more clear - that is 5% in Illinois, which is a silly statistic. The Chicago metro has a very different economy than the rest of the state. I'd imagine CPS is more like middle ground for Chicago metro school districts (but I can't say for sure).

 

Have to admit though, now that I look at that number, its a lot larger percentage of New Trier's (for comparison) than it was in the 80's or 90's when Kozol's book was written. I wonder if its that CPS has grown so much in spending, or other districts have slowed spending growth, or both.

 

 

Saw on 2 news this morning that CPS spends on average $10K per student and New Trier on average $16K. No idea where the #'s come from but that's what they said.

[Texsox]

Comparing budgets is a tricky business. Like running any business, expenses are higher in Chicago then in some other areas. Property costs more, school security needs are greater, etc. When the cost of living is higher, workers generally earn more. When the work involves personal risk, workers generally earn more.

 

But the bottom line isn't just about the expense side of the equation, it is about the income. Why should there be a disparity at all? Currently funding per student is different in every district. Perhaps leveling per county would be a step in the right direction. If some poor schools can do so well with dedicated teachers, then the districts with greater resources can also continue to do better. After all it isn't really the money, or is it?

[Steff]

Saw on 2 news this morning that CPS spends on average $10K per student and New Trier on average $16K. No idea where the #'s come from but that's what they said.

 

 

She skewed the numbers both ways, but here's the comment and the link.

 

"Chicago Public Schools calls Marshall one of its struggling schools. The state report card puts its graduation rate at 46.9 percent. CPS puts the spending per student at about $9,775.

 

That's certainly less than at New Trier where the graduation rate is just about 100 percent and where spending per student last year was roughly $16,856."

 

 

http://cbs2chicago.com/local/school.fundin...t.2.808722.html

 

 

[Soxy]

There is a slight disparity in what I pay in real estate taxes compared to the average Chicago resident.

I don't really understand your point.

 

I would assume property taxes would be different. I would also assume that there are lower rates of home ownership in Chicago relative to Wheaton, Oswego, or River Forest.

 

[DABearSoX]

My sister has taught in Wheaton (where she is currently) and also at Hope Wall (in Aurora), and she fully supports the kids that are boycotting. After hearing her stories about the disparities just within those two suburban districts, I understand the boycott too.

 

But I have no idea how to fix the problem.

 

What school does your sis teach at in Wheaton?

[Soxy]

What school does your sis teach at in Wheaton?

Edison.

[DABearSoX]

Edison.

 

BOOO...

 

GO HUBBLE HUSKIES!!!!

 

 

[EvilMonkey]

I don't really understand your point.

 

I would assume property taxes would be different. I would also assume that there are lower rates of home ownership in Chicago relative to Wheaton, Oswego, or River Forest.

The people who own all those apartment buildings pay the taxes for schools as well. So, in a roundabout way, do the renters.

 

 

The problem is you just can't fix the one point. Put a nice new school on the lower south side, in 3 weeks it will have broken windows, missing computers and graffiti all over it. Yes, you need good building. yes, you need good teachers. You also need to have paretnts involved, and kids to actually want to learn. Keeping kids in school who have no desire to learn just makes it harder for those that DO want to learn to accomplish anything. So you need money (teachers, buildings,etc), parents that want their kids to learn and kids that want to learn. Without the last 2, the first one would be a giant money sucking machine getting zero results.

[Texsox]

You made a number of excellent points Alpha. To add, those broken windows and graffiti perpetuates a downward spiral for the entire community. Research over and over again shows that communities that do not keep up appearances, have too many absentee owners, abandoned buildings where crime can occur without the owner complaining, almost never recover.

[EvilMonkey]

You made a number of excellent points Alpha. To add, those broken windows and graffiti perpetuates a downward spiral for the entire community. Research over and over again shows that communities that do not keep up appearances, have too many absentee owners, abandoned buildings where crime can occur without the owner complaining, almost never recover.

Sometimes I get one right. We don't always snark at each other.