'Forgot' to tell aldermen the agenda for February 24 had already been published... Huberman lied to City Council during February 22 testimony by not telling aldermen that he had already finalized the February 24, 2010 agenda recommending the destruction of 11 schools being discussed at City Council
Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Ron Huberman effectively lied to the members of the Chicago City Council's Education Committee during a February 22, 2010 hearing, when he neglected to tell them that the decision of the Board of Education to close, phase out, or reconstitute 11 schools that had been on the January 19, 2010, Hit List was already a "done deal." Others testifying with Huberman during the heated hearings included Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason Watkins and Chief Administrative Officer Robert Runcie. All three told the aldermen either during public testimony or during the previous weeks that they planned to change the "process" for closing schools.
Alderman Latasha Thomas, chairman of the Chicago City Council Education Committee, spoke to reporters during several recesses on February 22, 2010. None of the aldermen were given copies of the Board of Education's February 24 agenda, which had been released four hours before the City Council hearing. In the agenda, CPS CEO Ron Huberman recommends that closing, phase out, or turnaround of the 11 schools remaining on the 2010 Hit List. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.What they didn't tell the aldermen was that the agenda for the February 24, Board of Education meeting had been published, as required by the Illinois Open Mettings Act, and included the controversial proposals for the 11 schools remaining on the January list. The agenda lists Board Reports EX3 through EX12, each of which includes the proposal to destroy the schools that were being discussed at City Council. Although CPS had told the public that four schools had been "removed" from the original list following the hearings (which took place January 28 through February 10 at CPS and in four cases also in the communities), in fact only three schools had been "spared." Instead of closing Curtis Elementary School (32 E. 115th St.), Huberman had changed to the more drastic "turnaround." This kept the quota of "turnaround" schools being given to the controversial AUSL (Academy for Urban School Leadership) to four.
