The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Chicago is experiencing an exodus of experienced principals.
Forty-two Chicago Public Schools principals resigned this year, the most since Mayor Rahm Emanuel took office.
And 23 principals, out of about 515 total, decided to retire, a number somewhat higher than the last several years. The 65 school leaders departing this past school year saw more budget cuts, including unprecedented cuts midyear. Since 2011, the next highest number was 37 resignations in 2014. In 2012, only 13 departed, but 96 retired that year.
Mayor Emanuel has made his contempt for public schools clear, as well as his preference for privately managed, non-union charter schools.
CPS’ chief education officer Janice Jackson acknowledged the financial pressures, saying, “Our principals and teachers are leaving for jobs where their district doesn’t have to take hundreds of millions of dollars out of the classroom to fund their pensions.”
Ousted CPS principal Troy LaRaviere, who recently took office as head of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, said the pressure has been building for years.
“It’s the cumulative effects of being consistently under the weight of a district that finds one way after another to undermine the efforts [principals] put forth on behalf of their students,” he said. “Our ability to do our job depends on resources, and they take more of them away every year impairing our ability to do our job more and more.”
Until Thursday, when a temporary state budget was finally approved, principals were bracing themselves for cuts to their school budget of 26 percent on average. That was on top of cuts earlier in the school year to special education and warnings to stockpile cash so CPS could afford $676 million toward teacher pensions. They still don’t have budgets for September — and won’t for at least another week.
In recent years, the district privatized school cleaning, taking away principals’ power to manage janitors in their buildings. CPS shuttered a record 50 neighborhood schools. Budgets were cut sharply the same summer that former CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett pushed a $20 million no-bid contract for principal training that participants immediately denounced as shoddy.
Mayor Emanuel is effectively driving the public schools and their personnel into the ground. He is a poor steward of public education. What public responsibility is greater than the education of the city’s children?
I am no fan of Rahm Emanuel but to lay the blame solely at his feet when the past superintendent has been recently found guilty of eight-figure fraud and bribery scandal is disingenuous and misleading.
you mean the past superintendent that Rahm’s hand-picked school board put in place? the one that replaced the last one they selected?
John, they forget what fox was watching the hen house. Here in NJ after 25 years of State control in Newark, NJ, Christie blames everyone except the turds he appointed. Its a circular argument at worst.
FICTION: “CPS’ chief education officer Janice Jackson acknowledged the financial pressures, saying, ‘Our principals and teachers are leaving for jobs where their district doesn’t have to take hundreds of millions of dollars out of the classroom to fund their pensions.’”
FACT: The city of Chicago is sitting on a $1.4 billion TIF surplus. Schools have been systemically robbed of property tax revenue via the Tax Increment Financing Districts that have sprung up like kudzu throughout Chicago.
Also, Barbara Byrd-Bennett was Rahm’s personal pick.
With a Ruler like Rahmses you can expect an Exodus …
(yes, I know …)
TAGO, Jon!
The resemblance to Ramsesis actually uncanny.
Notice, as well, how it is all because of the pension system. Not the outright thievery allowed to go on from inside whatever the Chicago version of NYC’s Tweed offices are. Or the fact that Ms. Prtizker probably hasn’t had her corporations taxed one penny (that seriously was an unintended pun), while the city has probably given them millions in tax breaks. The same for the other billionaires & millionaires that live there. How’s that custodial services contract working out? How much did one of Rahm’s buddies pay BBB to take the fall for him?
…and they find a way to blame the teachers via pensions? “CPS’ chief education officer Janice Jackson acknowledged the financial pressures, saying, “Our principals and teachers are leaving for jobs where their district doesn’t have to take hundreds of millions of dollars out of the classroom to fund their pensions.” <— is that the truth or spin?
From where will Chicago draw replacement principals? TNTP? TFA? Will they snag some freshly minted TFA charter school principals with all of a year experience? AND on top of that fired Troy LaRaviere, a top notch principal. Amazing. Rahm is a true reformer, through and through, dancing the dance of lemons.
Maybe Rahm will shut the whole thing down and bring in Rocketship.
Or maybe NASA will bring in a rocketship for Rahm — to infinity and beyond!
Buzz resents that comment, SDP!
Mayor Emanuel is not a steward of public education. He was put in Chicago by a political machine to be a wrecking ball of public education.
Jackson should have said “because we didn’t pay the pension bill when we should have, and central office really needed to spend $10M on new furniture, the schools will have to take the hit.”
Rahm was kicked out of D.C. He will be kicked out of Chicago.
Breakdown of society when the tribal knowledge and intelligent people are not valued. History rhymes.
The more tenured and experienced the principal and/or teacher, the happier will be Rahm and those he represents. That’s what’s so frustrating about this. They WANT us to leave. We’re too expensive, ask too many questions, bring up too many valid points, and don’t want to stick to the script.