Number of half-empty Chicago public schools doubles, yet lawmakers want to extend school closing moratorium – Wirepoints
April 19, 2024
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A set of state lawmakers want to extend CPS’ current school closing 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 for anther three years. The school spends $45,000 per student, but just 2.4% of students read at grade level.
Hopefully, all media will get the message, in Illinois, too.
Ted joined Tom Miller of WJPF to talk about Illinois’ highest-in-the-nation property taxes, why lawmakers don’t want to touch the tax’s cost drivers, just how much Illinoisans’ tax burden has grown over the decades, why Gov. Pritzker failed to meet his promise to reform property taxes, and more.
When I was a kid there were zero social workers in public schools. When my kids were in school there was one for an entire (fairly large) district. Now, the grade school my kids attended has TWO FULL TIME Social workers and a part-time psychologist. Classes are routinely disrupted by outbursts by students, a notable percentage of whom are emotionally disturbed, autistic and/or on prescribed drugs for not just ADHD but also even for schizophrenia. If you don’t think this is a harbinger of cataclysm, you’d probably have gone rock climbing on the north face of Mount St. Helens prior… Read more »