Petitions for elected school board will result in referendums in at least 38 wards
At least 38 of Chicago's 50 wards will get to vote on whether voters in those wards want Chicago to have an elected school board, as the result of a massive citywide petition drive to put the question on the ballot for the February 24, 2015 municipal election. The petitions were turned in on November 24, 2014.
Jitu Brown of KOCO and other organizers stand with the boxes of petitions putting the question of the elected school board on the ballot in 38 of the city's 50 wards for the February 24, 2015 municipal election. Substance photo by Jean Schwab.At a press conference held at 11:00, November 24, at the Chicago Temple lobby outside the sanctuary, supporets of the elected school board announced that 50,000 signatures had been gathered on petitions from 38 wards. Between 50 and 60 people were there for the press conference.
The local referendum will be "advisory." Changes in the selection of the members of the Chicago Board of Education have to be made through the Illinois General Assembly, since the composition of Illinois school boards is by state law. Chicago has never had an elected school board in the more than 170 year history of the city's public schools. In order for Chicago to get an elected school board, legislation would have to be passed by both houses of the Illinois General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor.
After the press conference participants carried the boxes to the Board of Election Commissioners to file them. Words such as "Historic occasion" were used by many of the participants.
Participants included Families United, the Chicago Teachers Union, the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), Logan Square Community Council, Raise Your Hand, Grassroots Collaborative, and Action Now.
Several people spoke highlighting the problems schools are facing under the school board appointed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
A parent of a student from Hanson Park Elementary School reported that the school was overcrowded with classes as large as 40 students. The school is in dire need of funds to relieve the overcrowding. Parents, teachers and students from Hanson Park have been appealing to the Board of Education at every meeting for more than a year, with no results. Instead, the Board has voted to spend money supporting school expansions in wealthy communities such as Lincoln Park.
Jeanette Taylor reported that Mollison School is very overcrowded with no relief in sight. Taylor stated that the Special Education classes do not have classroom but must meet in the hall and under the stairs. These situations are illegal. Mollison parents, teachers and students have been appealing to the Board for relief at recent meetings, only to be greeted by security when they demand answers. Security people pushed Mollison parents from the microphones at the November 19 Board of Education meeting at Westinghouse High School.
Moderator Jitu Brown of KOCO stated that Mollison Elementary School has about 500 students and only one teacher assistant. Brown charged that other schools with 500 students have many more teachers assistants. Several speakers mention the inequality of spending and resources across the city.
