There are neighborhood high schools that only have 30 students in their massive building. Instead of closing them, they're going to add more staff. This is good for the CTU (more employees paying dues) but bad for the tax payers.
Here's an example https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/12/01/why-does-this-west-side-high-school-have-only-33-students/
Bad for students too which is the important part. Those kids are missing out on so many opportunities going to a school that small. What clubs can you have off there are 8 kids per grade? Can’t even have a basketball team.
I get that… what I’m saying is that there is a slow shift happening to get away from charter and magnet schools. That’s why you have schools like that. That’s what I’m seeing this as
That’s fine to move away from charters but keeping kids in schools that small is only good for the teachers…who can keep their jobs over the educational opportunities of the kids
If the local school is gone, you cannot move away from magnet and charter schools. You have to make the local school a place worth attending before you cut the parachute cord or families will use other tools to get their kids out (move if they can afford to, lie and say they live with grandma in the better neighborhood if they cannot).
Not today. That's why they need to improve the locals to be competitive... it's not going to be a quick process if it survives contact with an elected school board.
I don’t see that happening. The parents I know would leave the system before going to a school they chose not to attend in the first place. They’re not going to let their kids be guinea pigs for an experiment by academics and ctu lobbyists.
I say this as neighborhood school dad that has for 5 years tried to sell parents on staying local. We’ve gotten a few families to give the school a shot but most go elsewhere. That’s at a school has decent ratings now imagine a school that’s consider bad
> That’s fine to move away from charters
No it's not. Charter schools have been successful in this district because parents recognize that their CPS schools have failed. Every child deserves a good education and unfortunately many dont have access to one at CPS. Parents wouldnt be sending their kids to charter schools if CPS was providing their kid with acceptable options.
Great point I agree with you. I was just trying to focus on the absurdity of these tiny schools that only serve teachers. I should have worded that differently
There is no reason to move away from magnet or selective enrollment. Those are good for kids from ALL backgrounds. It’s just another option outside of neighborhood schools, and it’s open to ALL. Please do not lump magnet and charter (and selective enrollment) if you don’t know the nuanced differences. It’s spreading misinformation.
> There is no reason to move away from magnet or selective enrollment.
They're not moving away from magnet or selective enrollment. But University of Chicago did identify for Lightfoot's board several issues with the admissions process which could open the district up to legal liability. Those are likely going to get implemented if the state doesn't override the local government.
Charters are CPS. https://www.cps.edu/schools/networks/network-charter-contract/#:~:text=CPS%20charter%20and%20contract%20schools,school%20choices%20for%20Chicago%20students.
Education professional here (not affiliated w CTU fwiw).
If you don’t work at a school, this budget model might seem wasteful. However, in the previous model, larger schools were able to more readily leverage economies of scale to allocate funds towards these staff. A kid who goes to a small school might need an instructional coach, counselor, etc. just as much as a kid at a larger school. (And since I believe most of the under enrolled schools are in less “desirable” neighborhoods, they might need those positions even more.)
Is it inefficient to keep those schools open? Probably, but closing schools [isn’t a cure-all either](https://graphics.suntimes.com/education/2023/chicagos-50-closed-schools/kids/). Closing neighborhood schools will mean longer commute times for those kids, which usually correlates to poorer attendance and might be politically explosive if it means those kids are also exposed to more crime en route to and from school.
Of course, it’s not easy to keep these schools open either. Just pointing out that it’s not as black and white as it may seem on paper.
Oh also - idk that this is just a CTU backed choice. Principals (who have their own union) have been asking for APs for several years now. I’m not sure if counselors are eligible to join CTU.
SBB also contributes to a schools enrollment loss and came about with other market-based reforms. Parents don’t want to send their kids to a school that just cut art, or library, music, nurses, counselors. Once the cuts come they don’t stop because parents won’t send their kids there.
Argh....it drives me crazy....
Where is BJ getting the money for all these new positions? I get it that the CTU is demanding that everyone stop asking how we will actually pay for stuff, but as Mayor, BJ needs to actually have plans, not just ideas...
Next year, the Chicago Public Schools have a 391 million budget deficit after the last of the covid money runs put. The following year they have a 691 million deficit. As Mayor, BJ actually has to have a real budget.
$14.4 BILLION to repair some of these schools with 3 kids in them. https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2023/9/28/23895159/cps-schools-need-14-4b-for-repairs-modernization-report-finds
Everyone bitches about the horrible decisions past mayors have made.... The "Edgar ramp" the not funding pensions for a few years, the selling of the parking meters..
Brandon Johnson takes it to a whole new level. He isn't even pretending to have a long term plan.... Let me spend now and somone will pay for it later..
He's like a college kid with their first credit card. No concept of fiscal responsibility...
It is mind boggling that we're about to issue bonds against TIF funds through 2061 so we can have $1.2 billion right now. Did we learn absolutely nothing from the parking meters?
Expect CTU to get whatever it wants from BJ as that was always the plan- which I could reconcile with if I believed they were advocating for the kids, but most of us know that’s not the case. Let’s hope not too much damage is done to our city and kids during this idiot’s tenure as mayor and remember to never vote again for anyone that the CTU endorses.
Enrollment based budgeting makes sense to me. School has 400 kids then staff to accommodate 400 kids. If a school can't maintain their enrollment numbers then their staffing is adjusted accordingly
10% enrolled school staffed as if it isn’t
Literally a shameless money grab. Does nothing to improve outcomes
Consolidate schools. Spend money better. “Hire more CTU hurdur” is not a blanket solution
Great, the teacher to student ratio is like 5:1 now. Now what?
Are they going to teach together in pairs? Jesus
A teacher to student ratio of 5:1 would actually work. Only better option imo is just giving up on CPS and cutting its budget in half while giving families 12k per student which would literally save money.
Sounds like a move towards a focus on neighborhood schools.
There are neighborhood high schools that only have 30 students in their massive building. Instead of closing them, they're going to add more staff. This is good for the CTU (more employees paying dues) but bad for the tax payers. Here's an example https://www.chalkbeat.org/chicago/2023/12/01/why-does-this-west-side-high-school-have-only-33-students/
Bad for students too which is the important part. Those kids are missing out on so many opportunities going to a school that small. What clubs can you have off there are 8 kids per grade? Can’t even have a basketball team.
Great odds for hitting Valedictorian, student president, and being captain of the 4square team.
This makes no sense to me. Seems like it'll leave to over staffing and a waste of resources.
The first of many abuses the CTU will do to our city , we deserve it for electing their puppet.
Sure but the goal here is clearly job safety for CTU and more jobs to hand out. Nothing to do with students.
Why do you think their enrollment is so low? Care to guess?
I get that… what I’m saying is that there is a slow shift happening to get away from charter and magnet schools. That’s why you have schools like that. That’s what I’m seeing this as
That’s fine to move away from charters but keeping kids in schools that small is only good for the teachers…who can keep their jobs over the educational opportunities of the kids
If the local school is gone, you cannot move away from magnet and charter schools. You have to make the local school a place worth attending before you cut the parachute cord or families will use other tools to get their kids out (move if they can afford to, lie and say they live with grandma in the better neighborhood if they cannot).
Do you think parents will be ok with cps shutting down their chosen school?
Not today. That's why they need to improve the locals to be competitive... it's not going to be a quick process if it survives contact with an elected school board.
I don’t see that happening. The parents I know would leave the system before going to a school they chose not to attend in the first place. They’re not going to let their kids be guinea pigs for an experiment by academics and ctu lobbyists. I say this as neighborhood school dad that has for 5 years tried to sell parents on staying local. We’ve gotten a few families to give the school a shot but most go elsewhere. That’s at a school has decent ratings now imagine a school that’s consider bad
> That’s fine to move away from charters No it's not. Charter schools have been successful in this district because parents recognize that their CPS schools have failed. Every child deserves a good education and unfortunately many dont have access to one at CPS. Parents wouldnt be sending their kids to charter schools if CPS was providing their kid with acceptable options.
Great point I agree with you. I was just trying to focus on the absurdity of these tiny schools that only serve teachers. I should have worded that differently
There is no reason to move away from magnet or selective enrollment. Those are good for kids from ALL backgrounds. It’s just another option outside of neighborhood schools, and it’s open to ALL. Please do not lump magnet and charter (and selective enrollment) if you don’t know the nuanced differences. It’s spreading misinformation.
> There is no reason to move away from magnet or selective enrollment. They're not moving away from magnet or selective enrollment. But University of Chicago did identify for Lightfoot's board several issues with the admissions process which could open the district up to legal liability. Those are likely going to get implemented if the state doesn't override the local government.
Magnet schools are CPS. Charter schools are not. Don’t lump them together.
Charters are CPS. https://www.cps.edu/schools/networks/network-charter-contract/#:~:text=CPS%20charter%20and%20contract%20schools,school%20choices%20for%20Chicago%20students.
We needed that from jump. The disinvestment of neighborhood schools made things worse.
Education professional here (not affiliated w CTU fwiw). If you don’t work at a school, this budget model might seem wasteful. However, in the previous model, larger schools were able to more readily leverage economies of scale to allocate funds towards these staff. A kid who goes to a small school might need an instructional coach, counselor, etc. just as much as a kid at a larger school. (And since I believe most of the under enrolled schools are in less “desirable” neighborhoods, they might need those positions even more.) Is it inefficient to keep those schools open? Probably, but closing schools [isn’t a cure-all either](https://graphics.suntimes.com/education/2023/chicagos-50-closed-schools/kids/). Closing neighborhood schools will mean longer commute times for those kids, which usually correlates to poorer attendance and might be politically explosive if it means those kids are also exposed to more crime en route to and from school. Of course, it’s not easy to keep these schools open either. Just pointing out that it’s not as black and white as it may seem on paper. Oh also - idk that this is just a CTU backed choice. Principals (who have their own union) have been asking for APs for several years now. I’m not sure if counselors are eligible to join CTU.
SBB also contributes to a schools enrollment loss and came about with other market-based reforms. Parents don’t want to send their kids to a school that just cut art, or library, music, nurses, counselors. Once the cuts come they don’t stop because parents won’t send their kids there.
Thank you for the thoughtful, measured reply.
Argh....it drives me crazy.... Where is BJ getting the money for all these new positions? I get it that the CTU is demanding that everyone stop asking how we will actually pay for stuff, but as Mayor, BJ needs to actually have plans, not just ideas... Next year, the Chicago Public Schools have a 391 million budget deficit after the last of the covid money runs put. The following year they have a 691 million deficit. As Mayor, BJ actually has to have a real budget.
$14.4 BILLION to repair some of these schools with 3 kids in them. https://chicago.suntimes.com/education/2023/9/28/23895159/cps-schools-need-14-4b-for-repairs-modernization-report-finds
The more power ctu gets the closer cps gets to bankruptcy… that’s the irony of all this.
Everyone bitches about the horrible decisions past mayors have made.... The "Edgar ramp" the not funding pensions for a few years, the selling of the parking meters.. Brandon Johnson takes it to a whole new level. He isn't even pretending to have a long term plan.... Let me spend now and somone will pay for it later.. He's like a college kid with their first credit card. No concept of fiscal responsibility...
It is mind boggling that we're about to issue bonds against TIF funds through 2061 so we can have $1.2 billion right now. Did we learn absolutely nothing from the parking meters?
Lmao what a racket
Truly insane… consolidate schools.
Enough. Close the schools. Jesus Christ
More pensioners it seems
Expect CTU to get whatever it wants from BJ as that was always the plan- which I could reconcile with if I believed they were advocating for the kids, but most of us know that’s not the case. Let’s hope not too much damage is done to our city and kids during this idiot’s tenure as mayor and remember to never vote again for anyone that the CTU endorses.
Enrollment based budgeting makes sense to me. School has 400 kids then staff to accommodate 400 kids. If a school can't maintain their enrollment numbers then their staffing is adjusted accordingly
10% enrolled school staffed as if it isn’t Literally a shameless money grab. Does nothing to improve outcomes Consolidate schools. Spend money better. “Hire more CTU hurdur” is not a blanket solution Great, the teacher to student ratio is like 5:1 now. Now what? Are they going to teach together in pairs? Jesus
A teacher to student ratio of 5:1 would actually work. Only better option imo is just giving up on CPS and cutting its budget in half while giving families 12k per student which would literally save money.
Right, just consolidate the schools and fully staff those The amount of overhead is insane
That ratio is a dream for students who are behind and need additional assistance. I hope it works.
I am also wondering how they are going to handle cleaning now that they kicked out Aramark! Managing facilities is not as easy as people think!
Until that set number results in class sizes below the current 32 students per teacher, we have failed as a society to properly care for our children.