Dramatic protest gets widespread notice as children take desks to the 606 Trail to protest poor funding for CPS...
Protesters on the "606" got major attention. Substance photo by Jean Schwab.I didn’t really know what to expect when I rode my bike on the 606 Trail near my house on August 10, 2017. I knew that there was supposed to be a 9:30 a.m. demonstration on the Chicago Public Schools’ budget, school funding and revenue solutions. I was very surprised to see 24 student desks, each with a typed note with a student describing what decreasing funds to schools would be like! The signs told me more about the cuts in our schools. I was educated fast. And (see below) so were many others, including Crain's Chicago Business and the Better Government Association.
The planning the notifications were precise.
The signs stated;
• McAuliffe Elementary School will lose $198,921
• Avondale-Logan is expected to lose $186,993
• Nixon Elementary will lose four teachers and two support personnel
• Stowe would lose $353.432
• CPS laying off 116 high school teachers
• CPS laying off 134 elementary school support personel
• Nixon, losing $282,292, Schurz is number 10 out of 501 schools losing 1 million dollars
• Kelvyn Park intermediate and high School is expected to lose seven teachers and four support personnel this year.
Several students and community members spoke about the need for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to step up and fund our schools. Students mentioned programs were being cut; librarians are cut along with after school activities. After the 606 was built students in Humboldt Park and Logan Square were being pushed out of the schools.
We need a progressive tax that will support the schools. Among the speakers was Monica Barrara, a senior, who pointed out that her school ended the year with 352 students in a building with a capacity of 1,200 students. Barrera stated that students “are leaving to attend charter schools or other schools.” A Schurz High School student stated that her school has lost $ 2 million over the last two years in budget cuts. Johanna Maldonaldo, a teacher at Yates Elementary School, stated that “Rahm needs to step up and put money into our schools. SB1 does not cover all that CPS needs, so CPS must find the money in a TIF surplus, and a corporate head tax.” After the speeches I asked Marty Ritter, Chicago Teachers Union organizer, why some of the cuts were from those listed in the newspapers. He told me that after talking to the principals at schools, which, as McAuliffe, was expected to get more funding this year, he found the newspapers were not accurate.
