June 19 Nettlehorst event highlights hypocrisy of Huberman's patronage administration... When CPS cuts your school's staff, just set up a not-for-profit and raise private money!
Less than five days after he assured the Chicago Board of Education and the public that he had trimmed central office administration at CPS to the bone and had been forced to borrow $800 million in order to save the schools, Chicago Schools Chief Executive Officer Ron Huberman and his propaganda staff hosted a media event that showcased patronage.
Even though he has been telling the public that he's "cutting" central office, Chicago Schools CEO Ron Huberman (above) had lied about the nature of the "cuts." After loading up the central administration with patronage hirelings from the CTA and City Hall (including Deputy CEO Barbara Lumpkin), Huberman cut citywide and central office staff who knew something about schools. On June 19, four days after he pushed through a plan to increase class size in the city's schools, Huberman (above, during the June 15 Board meeting) was in the affluent Wrigleyville community to help wealthy parents establish not-for-profits to raise private funds for their public schools. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.On June 19, 2010, Huberman and Barbara Lumpkin were featured at an event at Nettlehorst Elementary School. The purpose of the event was to help "parents" of public school children learn how to solicit money from not-for-profit charities and other sources, often by creating a not-for-profit entity for your local school. The idea seems to be that the failure of public funding can be cured by a rush to garner private funding for public schools. The trouble with the notion, exemplified by both the community in which the event took place (one of the wealthiest in Chicago, where a home rarely costs less than $1 million) and by Huberman's chosen assistant for the job ("Deputy Chief Executive Officer for External Internal Affairs" Barbara Lumpkin) is that both the event and the participants show more of what is wrong with the outlook of those leading Chicago's public schools.
Huberman, as most now know, was appointed to the post of CEO by Mayor Richard M. Daley in January 2009, despite the fact that he had no experience in, knowledge of, certification for, or training in public education. In fact, Huberman's previous job had been in buses and subways: he had been President of the Chicago Transit Authority. With the support of the Chicago Board of Education's seven members (all of whom are also Daley appointees), Huberman went on an unprecedented hiring binge between January and December 2009. Most of the new administrative hires Huberman brought in (at $100,000 or more in annual salary) were from the CTA, because they had the same mass transit experiences as Huberman himself. But another group of them came from outside the system (the CAOs), or from City Hall. The most prominent City Hall patronage appointee was Barbara Lumpkin, who went from being an aide to Mayor Daley at City Hall to being one of the highest paid executives in Chicago's public schools. Hired at the end of 2009 by Huberman at a salary of $140,000 per year, Lumpkin eventually came to hold the title "Chief Officer of External and Internal Affairs" or, at some times, "Deputy Chief Executive Officer for Internal and External Affairs." Lumpkin's job on June 19 was to tell wealthy parents how to set up not-for-profits to subsidize schools in more affluent communities with private grants and funds that would never be available for the majority of schools, which are not in affluent (and mostly white) communities.
On June 18, 2010, CPS issued the following press release: "FOR PLANNING PURPOSES: June 18, 2010 Top CPS Officials to Join Parents at Symposium on
Building Successful Schools
"WHO: Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Ron Huberman, CPS Deputy CEO-External Affairs & Partnerships Barbara Lumpkin
"More than 100 Chicago Public Schools Parents, Elected Officials
"WHAT: Public School Improvement Symposium
Even though he has been telling the public that he's "cutting" central office, Chicago Schools CEO Ron Huberman (above) had lied about the nature of the "cuts." After loading up the central administration with patronage hirelings from the CTA and City Hall (including Deputy CEO Barbara Lumpkin), Huberman cut citywide and central office staff who knew something about schools. On June 19, four days after he pushed through a plan to increase class size in the city's schools, Huberman (above, during the June 15 Board meeting) was in the affluent Wrigleyville community to help wealthy parents establish not-for-profits to raise private funds for their public schools. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt."WHEN: Saturday June 19, 2010 Event from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Ron Huberman expected to arrive approximately 9:30 a.m., Barbara Lumpkin presentation at 2:15 p.m.
"WHERE: Louis Nettelhorst School, 3252 N. Broadway
"The Nettelhorst School Community Group will host Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman, Deputy CEO Barbara Lumpkin and local officials at a Public School Improvement Symposium. Some 120 participants from 70 school communities are expected to hear from a variety of speakers on practical ways to organize and drive more resources into Chicago’s schools. Topics to be covered include:
"-- How to energize parents and community to support your school.
"-- How to set up your own not-for-profit group.
"-- How to set priorities in your school, and find sources of funding to achieve real results.
"-- How to ask for donations, including examples of appeals, proposals and campaigns.
"-- How to create partnerships with organizations.
"The event was organized and is managed by parents of public school students who have dedicated themselves to developing the resources for success at their schools."
