(RightIsRight.co) – Even as experts call for these closures and consolidations, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) is pushing back against the closing of “empty” and “failing” public schools in Chicago.
According to a report from Wirepoints, an Illinois nonprofit, many public schools in Chicago are grappling with problems like dwindling enrollment and financial strains, leading to what some describe as “emptying” schools.
While experts suggest that closing or consolidating schools could help, the CTU has resisted these ideas, instead advocating for the school district to hire more staff.
“If the union really believes that those staff are needed to improve student outcomes, it should approve of closings and consolidations so the district can more easily provide the needed amount of support staff for every school,” Wirepoints stated.
It continued, “Of course, the CTU doesn’t approve because that would reduce its membership and its power.”
The Wirepoints report also noted that a significant drop in enrollment was a major reason for the closure of 50 Chicago schools in 2013.
Despite ongoing discussions about whether Chicago Public Schools (CPS) should close or consolidate schools to save on costs, the CTU continues to oppose these measures.
“Most recently, CPS reported just 323,000 students attending schools,” Wirepoints said. “That’s a debilitating drop of 26% over the two decades.”
“The drop in enrollment has been overwhelmingly driven by a 50% drop in black attendance – down by about 115,000,” the report added.
“The fact that crime continues undeterred in the city and that black reading proficiency levels for graduating students remains stuck at near 10% are sure to be contributing factors to their flight,” it continued.
In turn, CPS plans to spend $1 billion on maintenance and upgrades for the 20 most-empty schools.
Overall, the district claims it needs a staggering $14.4 billion to fix emergency building repairs and renovate all 522 of its public school buildings. This amount is nearly $5 billion more than the district’s entire annual budget.
In addition, CTU has accused CPS CEO Pedro Martinez of planning to consolidate or close schools with low enrollment, calling him a “huge barrier to our collective success.”
This accusation comes even as Martinez denies any claims about school closure plans. The union has demanded that Martinez step down during their ongoing contract negotiations with the school district.
“CEO Martinez’s plans for closures, cuts, consolidations and furloughs are a call to action,” CTU said. “We need to show our strength and solidarity in the coming weeks so that we can win a transformative contract and put an end to discussions of balancing the budget on the backs of our students and school communities.”
Meanwhile, the teachers’ union supported Democrat Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson over former Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the city’s recent election, partly because CTU opposed reopening schools during the pandemic until teachers were vaccinated.
According to a report from the Illinois Policy Institute, some have questioned the CTU’s endorsement of Johnson, citing his history with the union.
“Chronic absenteeism has been poor across the nation since the pandemic, but in Chicago, it’s worse,” said Hilary Gowins, senior vice president of the Illinois Policy Institute, in an op-ed published in April. “That hurts students’ futures and the city’s well-being.”
Moreover, Wirepoints data reported that the number of public schools in Chicago that are more than half empty has doubled over the last decade. Additionally, many public school students in the city struggle to read at grade level.
“In brief, Public Agenda’s survey finds that Chicagoans think the biggest problem in the city’s public schools is that students are not learning enough academically,” the report stated.
President of Wirepoints Ted Dabrowski asserted, “I think that parents and Chicago residents should wake up to the fact that CPS is spending $30,000 per kid, and most kids, like the overwhelming amount of kids, can’t read.”
Copyright 2024, RightIsRight.co
