We in New York City know about a school board appointed by the mayor with orders not to listen to anyone but him.
We know about a school board that treats parents and teachers as nuisances.
Chicago parents know it too, and they aren’t going to take it without speaking out, as they are not allowed to do at “public hearings.”
They know what they want: smaller class size, respect for their teachers, resources for their schools. But their school board doesn’t agree, doesn’t want to hear them and doesn’t respect them.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Too bad the parents here in Cleveland haven’t figured out that they need to speak out against our mayor-appointed board and other BS.
Also of interest–a Chicago Tribune (7/7/12) about the CPS budget said
“The budget calls for an additional $76 MILLION (my caps added) for PRIVATELY
RUN CHARTER (again, my caps) schools next year.”
Really? Their $5.73 billion budget, w/a $664.6 million deficit, SPENDING “$76 MILLION
(my caps) for PRIVATELY RUN CHARTER (my caps) schools next year.”
Might we remind the CPS Board, the CPS CEO & the CPS CAO that all of the above is TAXPAYERS’ money being spent AND–in agreement w/the blog post, this is taxation w/o representation?
Chicago parents, the teachers & the communities know this, and they aren’t going to take it. They are going to DO something about it.
CODE – Communities Organized for Democracy in Education is a coalition of parent, teacher and community groups in Chicago that is fighting for an elected school board as a first step toward real parent and community involvement in education policy. You can see more information about CODE at http://www.codechicago.org .
A CODE member group just made a video about this issue http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rcDyfzOVZY Please watch it and share it widely.