At a public hearing, Chicago parents and teachers demanded to know why the city closed 50 public schools while opening charter schools.
“How could CPS continue to cut budgets at neighborhood schools while opening new charter and contract schools — even after shutting down a record number of schools just a year ago?
“We need to pull the money from the plan of expanding charter schools, reinvest in neighborhood schools in our communities,” said Scott Hiley, a special education teacher at Lincoln Park High School whose classes have so many desks jammed in that he has little room to move around.
“Still, “my school is fortunate. We’re still open. Kids don’t have to bring their own toilet paper,” he said at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Van Buren, the West Side location of one of three simultaneous two-hour meetings held throughout the city Wednesday night on the proposed $5.76 billion spending plan.”
“That plan, to be approved on July 23 by the Board of Education, includes about $67 million in cuts to district-run neighborhood schools and $62 million in increases for charter schools over last year, including to the scandal-ridden UNO Charter Network, and the Concept Charter schools that are under federal investigation. Neighborhood high schools have suffered the largest cuts, according to budget documents. CPS links the cuts and raises to enrollment shifts.”
The audience erupted in laughter and derision at some of the officials’ efforts to justify cutting public schools while opening charter schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I hope the parents have a copy of the Chicago School Facilities Task Force report. http://pureparents.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/CEFTF_Record-of-Actions_01.12.12_TF-Findings.pdf It’s quite illuminating.
I am a CPS parent and very frustrated with the system. Any recommendations on action by parents? How do we combat this nonsensical cutting/spending by CPS?
Sadly, nothing will come of these meetings. I think the city sends whichever flunkies drew the short straws just to go and pretend to listen so that we’ll pretend to believe we still have democracy. Then they’ll do what they want any way. And they’ll say they had overwhelming support for it. We’re living on Animal Farm.
it does feel that way
Dienne,
Sadly you are probably right.
I never thought that I would be so cynical, about something that makes me feel so idealistic: the noble concept of public education for all.
Is the closing of traditional schools and opening of charter schools not simply a response to the law of supply and demand?
I take it you are joking Bill F.
Actually, I’m not.
it’s not a true free market demand. It was created and forced and manipulated. . .like communism or something
that’s not free market supply and demand
Demand for profits, supply of public assets
That’s a clever little line, but it doesn’t mean anything.
If the parents didn’t want to send their children to charter schools, they would shut down tomorrow.
Bill F.,
Not true. There are more failing charter schools than public schools.
They create the demand by killing the public school BEFORE they close it. They underfund it, cut all the specials, close school libraries, let guidance counselors go, get rid of attendance officers, class sizes become huge. What is a parent to do? There would be LITTLE demand if the neighborhood PUBLIC schools were funded properly.
There’s no supply and demand when the schools are SHUT DOWN. When 50 public schools are shuttered, many of these parents have no choice but to put their kids in the charter schools, because that’s the only school available anywhere near where they live.
@Bill F.
There is choice and there is “choice”; you are talking about the latter.
Bill,
Over 30 years of the ” our failing schools” myth continually pumped out by media.
The nonsense that is NCLB and RTTT.
Continual budget cuts that go along with increased demands.
Non stop testing and test prep.
Efforts to stoke up resentments and fears among parents.
And on and on.
Parents and the public in general have been misinformed, and dis informed for a long time.
No, it is NOT basic supply and demand.
Read Dian’s book.
Read Mercedes Schneider’s book.
Marketing has created a demand (which is what marketing does) by constantly flogging the idea that public schools are “failing”. Sort of like how Nestle created a demand among women of developing nations for baby formula by convincing those women that breast milk wasn’t good. Of course, the fact that breast milk is actually better for babies in general, and the fact that these women couldn’t afford formula, so the babies died when the money ran out weren’t things that concerned Nestle too much. Just like the rephormers aren’t really concerned that charter schools are worse than public schools and that eventually, once all the money is in private pockets, there will be no more free charter schools either.
Do the charter schools receive more funding than the public schools to fund libraries, etc? Has a full public school even been shut down? Is there an example of this “marketing” in which the charter schools attack the capabilities of the public schools. And to be honest, most of the marketing I’ve seen is targeting the charter schools — evil, profiteering, etc, etc.
Bill F.,
Why don’t you read the Detroit Free Press series last week or two about $1 billion for charters with no accountability, lots of corruption? Or the same stories in Akron Beacon Journal? Or the stories about White Hat in Ohio? Or the American Indian Model Charter School in Oakland or the UNO charter chain in Chicago or the League of Women Voters study of Florida charters?
Oh for pity’s sake, I don’t have time to rehash everything that’s been posted on Diane’s blog. Read it – there are dozens of examples of schools being underfunded/underresourced, the fuzzy math they use to determine “utilization”, the mud that the rephormers sling at “failing public schools”, etc. Read it yourself – there’s over two years’ worth of information now, so dive in. Happy reading.
new kid on the block, huh Dienne? You’re right. Nothing he can do to catch up except read. That was me two years ago. I haven’t stopped reading since. And trying to work to keep NC from slipping away like all these other states.
If you consider school segregation and discrimination, blatant corruption, corporate greed profit ting off tax dollars for schools, lack of transparency, teaching and learning standards, oversight, and genuine care for the well being of each child as an individual as opposed to a source of capital as supply and demand, then sure. And don’t tell me all traditional schools do this anyway because they don’t. And just because there are a few bad eggs out there, like any industry, it doesn’t make it okay to make those negatives okay and call them a charter school.
If you agree corporations are people with the same rights and privileges and don’t mind bowing down to the almighty dollar, then by all means support charter schools. Personally I prefer the traditional school that acts as the central lynchpin of the community it’s in, not a manager’s special down the power aisle of Walmart.
Bill F.
Haven’t seen you respond before. Welcome!
Beware though that quite a number of folks here have done the hard digging, have sifted through the nonsense and eat any trolls, metaphorically speaking. It’s a tough crowd.
If I may ask? Are you a public school teacher, administrator or parent? What brings you to this little corner of the educational world?
What is the “law of supply and demand” when it comes to public services? Should the law of supply and demand take precedence over public spending for things like fire and police protection?
The law of supply and demand dictated that no for-profit company would supply rural residents with electricity and it took government resources and monies to do so, setting up rural electric cooperatives. And it has been my experience that my rural coop (the users are the owners) does a hell of a lot better at supplying electricity than the for profit companies-fewer and shorter outages during storm and costs less.
I look forward to your responses.
Duane,
You are such a gentleman.
XO
No, not really. If so beware gentlemen who like fishing (it involves baiting your hook and then at the right time “setting the hook”!
Personally, I’ll be surprised if I get a response. Surprise me Bill F.!!!
And we’re waiting…waiting…still waiting.
I think “Bill F” is really “julia” from the Detroit school discussion yesterday – a troll in different clothing perhaps.
Ang, if Duane is a gentleman, it’s because this southern girl has stayed on his case. 🙂
🙂 🙂
Joanna,
I first read that as “his southern girl” (unfortunately, or is that fortunately, there isn’t one but if any gal would put up with this near sextagerian half way broken down ol codger I’d be willing to entertain the idea, and her, eh). And I got to thinking about what constitutes a “southern girl”.
Those of us from the Show Me State, especially if brought up around the major cities have a fairly midwest bland accent, at least to us. But evidently for New Englanders at least we sound southern-at least that’s what they told us when we lived in MA. But then again the southerners think we sound like Yankee’s. We were at the Casey Jones Museum in Jackson, TN for their famous Sunday morning buffet. As we (7 of us) were filling up our plates one guy said to his buddy “Daaannngg, weee’s surrounded by yaankeees.”
So, Joanna, what is a “southern girl”? Is she different from a “southern belle”? How could that “southern girl” reign in this feisty free thinker?
It is not by any stretch of the imagination a response to the law of supply and demand. It is crony capitalism. Parents have never had a seat at the table where what will be made available to choose from is decided upon. When they make their desires about that known they are marginalized, ignored and ridiculed. The situation is entirely coercive and in no way resembles even remotely a free market system.
And yes, if you are reading this, MANY, TOO MANY full public schools have been completely shut down and basically murdered.
It is about time the citizenry of every community defend the American Public Schools . Exemplary schools consist of
Great principals, teachers and parents willing to work hand in hand for the growth and development of every child.
Charter Schools are not the answer.
Building a sense of community is the key to helping improve students achievement and productive citizens
Its not a rationale way to allocate public funds, increases per-pupil expenditures, and substitutes a unwieldy market for a democratic process. It costs a thousand dollars for a public school kid in Akron to be in the marching band, but at least Brennan and the other bandits can make millions. Your marketing and profiteering will catch up with you, eventually.
Bill F. When your neighborhood schools get shut down, and replaced by several charters, you have no choice but to go to the charters. In Newark, Cami Anderson is shutting down schools, even well-performing schools according to her own criteria, to make way for corporate takeovers by for-profit charters. THE PARENTS THEN HAVE NOT CHOICE BUT TO UTILIZE CHARTER SCHOOLS and/or be sent miles away from where they live according to a city-wide “lottery” that is decided by an algorithm developed by … Gates? … Pearson? … and the parent makes 8 choices….and their kid(s) get sent wherever Cami decides, even if they have 3 kids going to have to attend 3 different schools across town. There is no demand for charters. Get a grip, or stop being a troll. Do your research.
Bill F,
When you get done with all the above homework, google Pink Hula Hoop and Bob Braun’s Ledger to bring you up to speed on Newark. Should you need additional sources, we will be happy to oblige. Are there any charter schools in your area? Have a look.
Bill F.–I hope that you know that no one who suggested that you read and read some more is kidding. If you’re not up to snuff on the sad state of American education, please make sure to read and to educate yourself. Echoing what Duane said, welcome to this wonderful, informative “site to discuss better education for all!” I’d wish you happy reading, but I know, of course, that much of the information will be absolutely heartbreaking. Sigh. Not a mistake that one of my favorite bands is Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band–from “Against the Wind”:
-“Wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then.”
P.S.–But meant to add–“Knowledge is power!”
Bill F., The parents and students in New Orleans weren’t given a choice. It sounds to me like the public school parents of Chicago don’t want a choice between public and charter schools either…they want decently funded neighborhood public schools. Good luck to those parents and hats off to them for their efforts!
Hey everybody. Anthony is posting a piece on “choice” over at Education Week tomorrow. Please read and tweet!
There were three hearings on Wednesday, all simultaneous so that people could only go to one. The most extensive reporting on the hearings is at substancenews.net. Period. The report from the Chicago Sun-Times on the Malcolm X hearing is incomplete to the point of inaccuracy. The Tribune didn’t even send a reporter. That’s how corrupt the corporate media is at this point in history in Chicago (and from FAIR I am figuring elsewhere). But it people fetishize the corporate media and celebrate what little dribbles into the Sun-Times, Tribune, or New York Times it is a big mistake. The Times is as corrupt in slanting its “news” coverage as any Fox newsification of reality. While I am still subscribing to the Times, reading it every day, and holding Times stock (even with the truncated voting structure), let’s not pretend that the ideas of today are not generally the ideas of the ruling class. And the ruling class is clearly represented by all of today’s daily newspapers.
As I reported from Wright College Wednesday (the North Side Chicago budget hearings), 21 people spoke, virtually all of them eloquently and with precision. The only other reporter there was from Univision, and they reported in Spanish.
George–all the more reason that Karen needs to run for mayor. Someone wrote in to Fred Klonsky’s Blog, stating that, if Karen ran, the national media would be all over Chicago (as if that were a BAD thing?!). As in 1968, the whole world needs to be watching.
Attention WILL be paid!