By: Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
Illinois politicians, especially those in Chicago, don’t want to close the city’s failing, nearly empty public schools. They don’t want to take on the teachers unions. Now, 163 schools – one third of the district’s traditional schools – are currently running more than half-empty, to the detriment of both student outcomes and district finances. Many of those schools should be shuttered and their students sent elsewhere.
But a set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing moratorium, which currently ends in early 2025. State Rep. Margaret Croke (D) has sponsored a bill that would extend the moratorium to February 1, 2027 – the same year CPS is set to transition to a fully-elected school board.
That means schools like Manley High School, with capacity for more than 1,000 students but enrollment of just 78, can’t be closed. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
CPS’ original moratorium on school closings was put in place by then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel after he announced the closure of 50 schools in 2012. Since then, Illinois lawmakers have reauthorized and extended the moratorium several times over the decade.
The number of half-empty, failing schools in CPS has doubled in that time. In 2015, there were 75 schools that only had half the enrollment they should – 16% of all traditional (stand-alone, non-charter, non-contract schools). In 2024, that number has grown to 163 – or 34% of all traditional schools.
Declining enrollment is to blame for those emptying schools. Since the moratorium was originally put in place in 2013, the district’s student population has fallen by more than 80,000, or 20%.
Chalkbeat reports that many of the lawmakers supporting the latest extension bill are “concerned” about last year’s resolution by the CPS School Board calling for an end to selective and magnet schools. The legislation “is meant to delay any big changes until an elected school board is in place,” Rep. Croke said.
Her concerns are legitimate. Wirepoints has already written about how twisted it would be for Chicago to eliminate the city’s diverse, top-performing schools where blacks and Hispanics excel at the highest level.
But what’s frustrating is that Rep. Croke’s original extension bill protected only magnets and selective enrollment schools from closure. Now her latest proposal will also prevent CPS from closing empty, failing schools.
So the good news is Northside College Prep, a diverse, top-performing selective school where blacks and Hispanics excel at the highest level would be preserved from the CTU’s wrath…for now.
But so too will Douglass High School, a nearly-empty, all-black neighborhood school where not a single child can read or do math at grade despite the school spending over $68,000 per student.
Rather than obsess about literacy – just 20% of minorities can read at grade level – lawmakers and the teachers unions are more concerned about protecting the educational-industrial complex.
Read more from Wirepoints:
- Chicago Public Schools’ twisted goal: End selective enrollment schools while keeping nearly empty, failing schools open
- In the name of equity, Chicago looks to close schools with top-performing black, Hispanic students
- Illinois education officials keep trying to hide their failures behind excuse of “higher test standards”
- $30 million over four years: How teachers unions influence Illinois politicians.
- Chicago Public Schools’ sexual abuse and misconduct cases everyone should know about
- The monopoly of failing public schools tightens in Joliet
The bill passed despite their votes in response to certain incidents where local prosecutors are thought to have been too lenient with non-citizens assaulting cops.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board cited Wirepoints’ analysis of Chicago student proficiency data in their latest piece condemning the Chicago Teachers Union’s outrageous contract demands…all while a vast majority of Chicago’s children graduate unable to read at grade level.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about the details of Gov. Pritzker’s proposed $52 billion budget, why the state is struggling now that federal covid dollars have run out, the controversy surrounding Tier 2 government pensions, why Illinois’ expensive education system fails to teach children to read, the outrageous demands of the Chicago Teachers Union, and more.
Ted joined Jeff Daly to discuss how politicians can never spend enough on education despite there being no accountability for that spending, the growth of education staffing across Illinois, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s $1 billion demand for Chicago schools, why Gov. Pritzker is providing $830 million in taxpayer subsidies to struggling EV carmaker Rivian, and more.
Incredible waste of taxpayer dollars, solely to employ surplus CTU teachers and CPS staffers. No legitimate reason to maintain operations at under-enrolled schools (<75% capacity).
These schools already cost CPS a huge $/student annual expenditure, well-above $/student expenditures at Chicago’s elite selective-enrollment CPS schools. Unfortunately, new CPS “need-based” school-funding policy will gift under-enrolled lowest performing schools a large additional infusion of more CPS funds.
Keeping empty schools open is a ‘friends & family’ job program for local community members. Although I can’t find the most update to date figures, Black unemployment is more than double the city’s unemployment rate, and the black youth unemployment, at least as of 2023, was in the 30% range. Jobs in schools even as do-nothing staff members are mostly unionized and pension providing jobs for people who are otherwise unemployable. That’s why they fight to keep the schools open. The moment you realize that the CTU believes it has ‘captured’ CPS as a way to funnel money into the… Read more »
It seems even CTU realizes in the long run CPS student population isn’t growing. Hence the new CTU $equity hustle$ game plan is to turn all the empty schools into their “sustainable schools” model, kind of multipurpose community center/ all in one social service center. How will these “sustainable schools” compete with existing non-profits, park district , etc programs? Most importantly, who will staff “sustainable schools” CTU? This Chalkbeat article says CTU is looking to collaborate with non-profits to staff (https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2024/04/19/chicago-mayor-brandon-johnson-expand-sustainable-community-schools/), have any non-profits been included in any CPS “sustainable schools” to date? I haven’t heard anything? Or is CTU… Read more »
Surely CTU/SEIU was looking to have failed BCH tax $bucks$ funneled into their pockets…can just past $1.25 bond for housing be somehow funneled into CTU/SEIU pockets thru “sustainable schools”???
Chicago Police once offered housing assistance to recruits who would live in high crime areas for two good reasons. One, more security in the neighborhood. Two, as an example of how the middle class behaves. Perhaps the schools could consolidate three buildings into one throughout the city and convert the two empty schools into discounted condos and apartments for their staff.
Just one of many symptoms of a dying city.
Another group of liberals ignoring reality and kicking the can down the road so they don’t have to make a tough decision…all while burdening taxpayers with additional expenses.
Gotta keep union membership numbers high, more nurses, psychologists and don’t close any nearly empty schools. That’s what this is all about, sorry taxpayers.
What does one do when a measurable portion of society demonstrates, with no equivocation, their inability to process information and arrive at a conclusion that is in the best long-term interest of their children and their family? The vast majority of CPS schools are failures by almost every measure, except that of providing day-care for working parents… The money that is wasted supporting underutilized schools – put aside underperforming for the moment – is significant. And yet, the impacted parents become the useful idiots of the CTU and fail to drive change – fail to demand better. This inability to… Read more »
This is emblematic of how “Progressives” like Brandon Johnson govern. Do what looks and feels good to your base and damn the rest of the taxpayers let alone the students.
LOOK at the Student counts. LOOK at the cost per student. Good God. What part of this is so hard to understand, these “students” could attend a private school for less money. The powers that be don’t want to change, so they have a High School that is built to serve 1000 students…but only have 35. This report is stunning.
The tax payer is required to support this stupidity?!
Close it and start over. End this charade.
Anyone who sends their kids to government schools is a moron. Home schooling with like-minded parents will result in smarter, better Americans.
This article can be filed under the category “Confusing CPS with Education.”
Same thing happened in Detroit before the bankruptcy. I think I remember like 40% of the HS were less than 50% occupied.
Detroit teachers unions fought to prevent school closings.
“I think I remember like 40%.” Please do the work and check it out before commenting. The comment section is better if people check their facts.
WP provides very accurate and very disheartening facts regarding CPS enrollment, staffing and accomplishments. Are any of their high schools functioning close to full enrollment and grade level expectations?
Where do you get accurate facts?
Do you really think the CPS will give you an accurate number?
??? Your comment was about Detroit schools and you made the claim. You find the facts.
Wrong person Mark.
Da Judge made the comment.
The CPS figures I suspect are full of lies.
Mark, It’s all in this extensive report on the Detroit public school system. A School District in Crisis – Regrid As enrollment began to fall in the 1970’s, the school district faced a new problem: for the first time since its founding the district had more classroom seats than it had students. While some parts of the city were still growing, others had begun to shrink, leaving some schools more than half empty. New school construction all but stopped, as the district instead turned its efforts towards keeping as many schools open as possible. Recognizing that the school was often… Read more »
As of yesterday, on it’s web site, CTU is calling for its members to contact legislators to kill Croke bill claiming it will close neighborhood cps shools in b&b neighborhoods? Even as school closings get put off till 27? (https://www.ctulocal1.org/posts/hb303/)
UPDATE. Remember, the CTU wants to close the city’s magnet and selective enrollment schools. They deem those schools as “racist” and “privileged,” despite the fact that in many of those schools minorities excel in both reading and math.
The bill would prevent CPS from shutting those schools down for another two years. That’s likely one of the reasons they oppose it.
On the other hand, the moratorium would extend generally as to all schools for two more years, at which point in time schools could close, which the union objects to as they don’t want any schools to close at any point in time. I am inclined to your view though as the union and Johnson want to see selective schools close right now with a movement to neighborhood schools. Of course this won’t happen as closing selective schools will just drive the good students out of the system.