Trumbull closing hearing draws huge crowd, hears passionate defense of the school and lawsuit threat
It was an emotional hearing with 76 Trumbull supporters, 37 of them speaking, at CPS headquarters on April 26, 2013. They weren't deterred by the Friday night venue and the inconvenience of getting to a loop location as the weekend began. They were fiercely determined to make sure that the truth about their school was on the record and that the Board of Education did not get away with the assault on their school.
Judgment day for Trumbull, CPS officials read from their scripts, then refused to answer questions. Above, hearing officer, Markay Winston (head of special ed, who assured Trumbull that all children with IEPs would get superior service at their "Welcoming Schools"), Craig Benes ("Chief of Schools," who assured the hearing officer that the underutilization charges against Trumbull by CPS were true, accurate, and professional), James Dispensa (Board demographics expert), and (rear right) Cheryl Colson, CPS attorney who assured the hearing officer that everything CPS was planning to do was legal under Illinois law. Substance photo by Jean Schwab. The people who spoke had one thing in common: They did not believe the utilization numbers were accurate, they presented facts as an alternate to the official "data," and they did not want to see Trumbull Elementary school closed.
They told the hearing officer that the school had made great strides with a new principal and LSC. They refused to believe that the “Welcoming” schools were better for their children.
There were questions about how to get students to the new schools and when and where applications should be filled out. One parent had transferred her child from the school that she now is being told to send her child back to. She asked if she could find another school on her own.
Quite a few of the speakers became very emotional during their speeches.
Mark Miller is a Community Representative on the Local School Counsel. He wondered why Chicago Public School had lots of time to present arguments for closing the school — and he only had two minutes. He wanted the Hearing officer to submit a written report that CPS had not complied with Guidelines and Laws.
Alice Strini, Legal Assistance Foundation, which provides free legal services to poor, elderly and disabled persons in Cook County, spoke saying that “CPS violates the law and CPS’s own guidelines by closing Trumbull. It’s also unwise and unfair.”
Ivan Zayas a teacher and LSC representative at Trumbull said that the network has sent two retiree principals "to watch us and report back." The utilization numbers are wrong, he repeated, providing the hearing officer with the proof that CPS had set up the school to be closed.
The school has filed an appeal and has not gotten an answer.
Eighteen other schools have also appealed and not received answers.” Zayas stated that the Principal has given everyone a book on how Trumbull got their utilization numbers but CPS has not told us how they got their numbers. Rumors are going around the school that they are being evicted so another school could be located there.”
Martin Ritter, a Chicago Teachers Union organizer, stated that the utilization numbers are inaccurate and wrong. Even 40th Ward Alderman Pat O’Conner, a very close ally of Mayor Emanuel, said the same thing at the second "community" hearing earlier. Jan Schakowsky, congresswomen, also is against the closing.
The critics charged that the space utilization for the receiving, so-called "Welcoming" schools, is inaccurate. Many also pointed out that there is no school safety plan yet.
Donna Davis, a Trumbull parent, stated, "I refuse as a CPS parent to send my children (to the new school) because there are gangs all around. You do not have a right to tell me where I can send my children.”
Jill Wohl, of the Raise Your Hand coalition, stated that in 2011 a Master Facilities Plan from CPS was due but CPS asked for an extension. Even before the plan was finished, CPS said they would have the largest closing of schools. Raise Your Hand has walked through 21 schools and did not see what the CPS Board reports in terms of utilization.
Ellen Shepard, Executive Director, Andersonville Chamber of Commerce stated that the businesses are against the closing of Trumbull. Also, the building is very significant because it is old and because it houses Trumbull School. The business community has a good relationship with the school because it is "the anchor of our community." Closing a public school will have an impact on the neighborhood.
Patricia Williams, the special education case manager at Trumbull, stated that Trumbull has 148 students with IEPs as of April 25, 2013. She said there are 100 students in a cluster program which is special education self contained classrooms, 41 students are integrated into regular classrooms and seven are in cross-category classrooms. Williams said that dismantling the services for Autism and Mild Cognitive Delay students is wrong because these students need stability. Some of those present were aware of the fact the previous promises by CPS of providing continuing services for special ed students when schools are closed has been a lie all the way back to seven years ago, when Arne Duncan closed Spalding saying it needed extensive rehabilitation, then fixed up the Spalding building, at Ashland and Washington, only to give it away to a charter school.
James Morgan, LSC Chairman asked which school his students are going to. He told the hearing officers that he has gotten a notice from two schools. He said the notices he received said that the applications need to filled out by April 19. He told the hearing "the information on the receiving schools is less than the information on a can of Coke." He added that the schools they are going to are "Level 2" schools.
This reporter (Jean Schwab) spoke about the unresponsive hearing officers. Several people asked about safety plans, applications, utilization data, receiving schools — and no one on the hearing committee responded. It would help ease the school community if some of their questions were answered, all agreed, but as at other hearings the CPS officials sat there like the famous monkeys in the "See no evil..." depiction.
