Board of Education [in person or remote]
Chicago Public Schools
Education
Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022
10:30 a.m. — 4:30 p.m. CDT
42 W Madison St Chicago, IL 60602 (Directions)
You have the option to document this meeting in person or remotely, via live stream.
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Reporting
Edited and summarized by the Chicago - IL Documenters Team
Live reporting by
Isabelle Stroobandt
Near South high school; Enrollment; Migrant students
Izzy Stroobandt
@izzystroobandt
Good morning, Chicago! I'll be live tweeting Chicago Public School's Board of Education meeting today starting at 10:30am for @CHIdocumenters
Follow along! ⬇️🧵
@ChiPubSchools
Follow along! ⬇️🧵
@ChiPubSchools
10:11 AM Sep 28, 2022 CDT
Today's meeting is anticipated to be quite a long one...
See the meeting agenda here:
chicago.documenters.org/documents/agen…
See the meeting agenda here:
chicago.documenters.org/documents/agen…
If you wanna tune in to the live stream, you can view it on the @ChiPubSchools Youtube channel: youtube.com/c/ChiPubSchool…
@ChiPubSchools The 2022-2023 "Honorary Student Board Member" is currently speaking. https://t.co/b1He6XtFS3
Speaking now is the Principal of Jones College Prep. She’s speaking highly of Emmanuel, the Student Board Member.
He’s “a young person who not only wants to make a difference but be the difference.”
He’s “a young person who not only wants to make a difference but be the difference.”
“You are are very, very lucky to have Emmanuel working with you,” she said.
She’s speaking about the “Hispanic Heritage Month” celebrations.
“It is gratifying to see our schools celebrate the contributions that Latinx” people have brought to our world, she said.
Alan Sanchez is speaking, honoring his father Manuel Sanchez. “He was in charge of taking the patrol boys to Wrigley Field,” he said, and he took Alan and his brother along. They rode the El together, “That was a wonderful experience.”
“When he was named principal, that was such an honor for us,” he said. They displayed the telegram from Mayor Daley congratulating him at Manuel’s wake.
“He was a great person and he was a great dad,” Sanchez said. He was a very “non-judgmental, very patient, very accepting individual.”
Many members of his family are here. Maria, Mario and Alan are Manuel’s kids. Ophelia, Manuel’s wife, is with Mario. https://t.co/GUQIEZZeaY
“Please know that the mark he made made a difference in my life and the lives of many Latinos who came after him,” said Miguel De Valle, Board President.
Former Alder Michael Scott Jr: “He was a parent to so many people”
“Our district summer programming set thousands of students up for a successful year,” she said. “We are making progress in ensuring high quality curriculum” is available to all students.
360 schools have formally adopted “Skyline” formally as their curriculum in at least one subject area, Chkoumbova said.
Chkoumbova: “We also have seen an exciting trend in pre-K enrollment.”
A 5% increase — attributed to several factors, including the expansion of free food campaign, marketing and close review of early childhood data that targeted enrollment outreach.
A 5% increase — attributed to several factors, including the expansion of free food campaign, marketing and close review of early childhood data that targeted enrollment outreach.
Chkoumbova: Curie High School is one of three schools still in the running for a $50,000 grant from the Worlds Best School competition
There are no questions for Chkoumbova and we’re moving onto remarks from Pedro Martinez, CPS CEO
“Like many of our children, I was not born in this country,” Martinez said. He later grew up in Pilsen and was the first in his family to go to college.
He sees himself in the faces of many CPS students now, he said.
He sees himself in the faces of many CPS students now, he said.
“CPS is … providing the support, resources and continuity of education” people emigrating to Chicago need, he said.
Martinez: There has been a 2% overall decrease in enrollment. High school enrollment has remained stable, but elementary enrollment has dropped 10%.
Martinez: Enrollment changes present an opportunity to review best practices
Martinez: One of the sharpest increases we’ve seen is in the Near South community
Martinez: The procedural votes I’m asking to move forward with today are the exact same that would be approved for any other similar project
Martinez: 2% of students still have over 90-minute commutes to school. That’s about 300 students.
Martinez: Encourages everyone to get COVID and flu shots and concludes his remarks.
Todd-Breland asks for Martinez to elaborate on approach to lowering route times
Martinez: “We have reviewed every single route,” “Working through figuring out how to balance new requests … while at the same time finding alternatives for some cases,”
Martinez: “As a parent myself with two children I can imagine the worry parents have when the routes are so long”
Next board mtg is Wednesday Oct 26, they’ll announce if it’s in person or virtual later. Moving to public comment.
First up is a representative of CTU, Christa Williams Hayes: “There needs to be more focus, attention and resources” on our students and those arriving from Texas.
Hayes: “The land the mayor wants to build on has already been promised to public housing residents who have been waiting patiently for years”
Hayes: “Let’s be clear, we should not be causing harm. The way this project is currently structured, it will cause real harm,”
Hates: “When it comes to housing and our schools, this plan shows our Mayor has it backwards again”
Hayes: “We have 20,000 unhoused students right here in Chicago who need and deserve … support,”
Hayes: “We simply cannot afford winners and losers — instead we need to fortify all areas,”
Hayes: “We’re down 250 nurses in a pandemic”
“We have a shortage of 11,000” specialized positions
“We have a shortage of 11,000” specialized positions
Moving to the next for now: Irene Robinson, a parent and education organizer
Robinson, also speaking on the new school proposal: “I know you can look and see all the homelessness and disparity in the city of Chicago,” “The CHA needs to keep their promise and open and build affordable housing for all”
“Don’t just accommodate some and others you disregard,” Robinson said.
Robinson: The school closures during Rahm Emmanuel’s administration were an “attack on Black and brown children,” she said.
Robinson: We can no longer take the disinvestment you put on our children.
Coleman again didn’t respond so we’re onto a new pubic speaker, I missed the name — “America as well as Chicago should not continue the practice of displacing people” who they promised land to or from who the land was already theirs
Angela Lin, co-president of People Matter in Chinatown, is now speaking: “We’ve done town halls, parent meetings, a lot of engagement” and a lot of residents are opposed to the construction.
They’re still trying to “heal the tension” between Asian and Black folks in the area and worry the proposal will divide the community further, Lin said.
Lin: Over 200 residents have signed a petition saying they want the school at 78, and there are a lot of questions about the attendance boundary. “There’s just a lot of questions and we have a need for that meaningful engagement,”
Chan, executive director of Coalition for Better Chinese American Communities: “Contrary to what some may say, this has never been about wanting to have an Asian only school”
Chan: “What we are opposed to is the proposed location” — 24th and State. “Over the past five months we have repeatedly asked” CPS and the city of Chicago to consider new locations
Vallory Rivera, CPS former elementary and high student: “The experience of being able to not go to my neighborhood school, Pilsen Elementary, changed the trajectory of my life”
Speaking now is Erica Thurman, parent: Expressing support for the project. “Our children really need this” she said. “I welcome this opportunity”
Speaking in person is Othiniel Mahone, principal of Urban Prep in Englewood: “We have a partnership with the Urban League that comes into the building weekly to provide additional support for our men,”
“We must educate and tend to the whole child”
“We must educate and tend to the whole child”
“Earlier it was stated that you can’t be what you can’t see,” Mahone said. He’s thankful at Urban Prep they “can come in every day and see what they can be”
Another administrator from Urban Prep: “We were intentional in thinking about the needs of our students because we know our Black and Brown boys are directly and indirectly impacted — one way or the other — by the ramifications of being victimized by the withholding of resources”
“Since our founding 17 years ago, we have been able to provide social-emotional support for our young men while still providing wrap around services and academic and post-secondary support”
Now speaking is Tannika Island Childress, representing the U Chicago Charter Schools. She’s asking they renew their charter. They’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of the North Kenwood Oakland campus
Mary Hughes: Also with NKO campus advocating for the renewal. “I greet the students every morning with a song as they fill the hallways,” she said. “I have relationships with the families and well as the students.”
Brenda Noble is the next speaker, also expressing support for the NKO charter renewal
Now speaking is Demarcus Thompson, a senior at North Lawndale College Prep: He’s involved in a program that’s committed to upholding peace in his school community. They greet students in the AM and help resolve conflicts.
Thompson: “We teach others how to implement peace and restorative justice where they live”
“I see the impact we have in our school community by seeing how many people are interested in” joining the peace program and the reduction in violence at school
“I see the impact we have in our school community by seeing how many people are interested in” joining the peace program and the reduction in violence at school
Speaking now is Kanesha Walker Amaro, trauma therapy instructor at North Lawndale College Prep.
“I’m astounded each and every day at my students resilience and their ability to show up and give their best in school,” despite what they go through every day, Amaro said.
Perla Mesa is speaking now, in Spanish (I’m translating): Mother of four students in CPS. Wants to share her experience as a Noble parent.
Many things have changed since her first kid was in school, like the pandemic. Her kids were really excited to return to school and in person learning. Her second child is taking honor classes and she “knows that it will help her when she’s applying to schools later”
Were at the last speaker on the list, Danielle Giles, a lifelong resident of North Lawndale. Her son is in the deaf and hard of hearing program.
She was told by teachers that her son was doing well reading, but she later learned that he was able to recognize words and not know what they meant. Shes pleading for help, as she’s accrued legal fees, is facing eviction.
Illinois State Rep Theresa Mah is speaking now, “respectfully urging” the board to oppose the Near South high school construction. @theresamah4rep
“From the moment I became aware this location was being considered more than a year ago I cautioned … that it was a divisive idea,” Mah said.
Mah: “I also expressed my objection to the dynamic that would be set up in which it would appear the Chinatown community has no qualms taking land from former CHA residents. This could not be further from the truth”
“There has not been meaningful public engagement … instead only manufactured consent at meetings staged by CPS with handpicked stakeholders of their own choosing,” Mah said
“In it’s current form, it is not a viable project,” Mah said. She’s taken measures to withhold the funds for the project that she secured, without which 40% of the budget will be unaccounted for.
Ald Pat Dowell, 3rd Ward, is speaking: “I don’t know where to begin — this is not a new concept”
“There has been a need for this school” since 2007.
“The growth of population … is significant and a new school in this region is necessary to support all the kids”
“There has been a need for this school” since 2007.
“The growth of population … is significant and a new school in this region is necessary to support all the kids”
Dowell: This site is the best to ensure that kids from all over the region can get there safely
Dowell: “It’s not an either or proposition to me … CPS is supposed to support and build up all the schools”
Dowell: The conversation of bringing back CHA housing on this site is a “red herring”
The promised housing is already planned for different locations, she said.
The promised housing is already planned for different locations, she said.
Dowell: I’m “very disappointed” that Mah is considering withdrawing funds.
Ald Nicole Lee, 11th Ward, now speaking: Sharing support for the proposal and the site of the school
“If there was a location in the 11th ward that made sense, I would be the first to champion it,” Lee said.
Diverse learning environments are the “most incredible gift that we can give our children,” Lee said.
“I want for our youth and their families to relate to each other as human beings,” Lee said. “We need both quality elementary schools and quality neighborhood schools for our students”
Ald Silvana Tabares, 23, is speaking in support of Peck Elementary school
“Peck school, they have been a level one school for many years” she said, and is asking that they expand the school to continue to 12th grade so students can continue through the STEM program.
Tabares received a stack of petitions from parents in support of expanding Peck through eighth grade
That officially concludes public participation for this meeting! Whew ..
We’re starting with a presentation on enrollment data: Decline is most noticeable in elementary schools https://t.co/8mxezaqYcT
Enrollment declined in both 11th and 12th grades this year https://t.co/lV1aQeYTGI
“This has not changed the landscape of our district,” https://t.co/amPlpAyoLu
Seeing increases in number of students in “priority groups” and returning to pre-pandemic rates
Seeing an increase in new and continuing English Learner students https://t.co/9PxGQzUuJo
Seeing an increase in new and continuing English Learner students https://t.co/9PxGQzUuJo
Map showing enrollment changes from last year to this year: https://t.co/HuqJkXOu7x
Changes in enrollment over the past five years that “largely mirror” the changes over the past year https://t.co/LbaIjtBLmT
The enrollment number is a product of the number of students who leave and the number who join: https://t.co/6TdUmDMamP
A more detailed view of why students are leaving:
Majority of students who leave, outside of graduating, is to transfer to a school outside of CPS. https://t.co/ETSITLiann
Majority of students who leave, outside of graduating, is to transfer to a school outside of CPS. https://t.co/ETSITLiann
“In reviewing this years data we are seeing trends more in line with school years 2018 and 2019”
There was a “dramatic decrease” in the number of students transferring to schools outside of Chicago or to non-public schools https://t.co/YkyosBG9TN
There was a “dramatic decrease” in the number of students transferring to schools outside of Chicago or to non-public schools https://t.co/YkyosBG9TN
They’re seeing an increase in attendance during the first four weeks of school compared to last year https://t.co/LcJkThEtMW
Attendance has most notably increased among Black students https://t.co/3FiiSXlb6v
This report comes about a month later usually, and Scott said they’ve worked hard to present it earlier.
Michael Scott Jr: With the temporary living situation families we can’t identity, how do we engage a student and those families “get back to grade level”
Martinez: Schools have foundational resources, we added more to work specifically with STLS students, summer programs.. What we’ve told schools is “target the students that you feel need it the most, and the resources will be there”
Scott: God forbid we have another pandemic, what are we putting into place so that them getting lost / left behind does happen again?
Martinez: We made a large investment in engagement
Chkoumbova: We’ve ramped up support for home visits and other strategies and will provide additional updates — “We are not stopping these efforts to continue to re-engage all of our students”
Chkoumbova: We’ve ramped up support for home visits and other strategies and will provide additional updates — “We are not stopping these efforts to continue to re-engage all of our students”
Sendhil Revuluri: With this early report, Is there anything you anticipate looking forward into the school year? For example, the way “do not arrive” students are handled — on enrollment or attendance front, do you expect any similar steps?
CPS: In terms of district enrollment, we tend to see things flatten out after the third or fourth week. That’s why we use the 20th day number, it’s when things start to “stabilize”
Martinez: We do continue to track and monitor students who are disengaged throughout the entire year
CPS: There are teams to identity those students, verify they come back or transfer
Revuluri: Do you compare cohort changes?
CPS: No, we have been looking at broader district cohort changes. We’ve seen a return to pre-pandemic rates recently.
CPS: No, we have been looking at broader district cohort changes. We’ve seen a return to pre-pandemic rates recently.
Revuluri: I got an impression that students who participated in summer programming were less likely to be in “do not arrive status” the first weeks — is that an anecdotal experience? or do you see that in the data?
CPS: we haven’t looked at that yet, but we will
CPS: we haven’t looked at that yet, but we will
Todd-Breland: Enrollment changes being driven by declines in elementary school, right?
“That’s our pipeline to future students … that is not good”
“That’s our pipeline to future students … that is not good”
Todd-Breland: “The big take away is… the story is that we’re down about another 9,000 students? is that right?”
CPS: 8,305
CPS: 8,305
Todd-Breland: The audit team said “declining enrollment is the number one risk to the district and as such we need a comprehensive approach to this,”
“This continues to be the major issue for our district and sometimes it’s not clear how everything else rolls up into that.”
“This continues to be the major issue for our district and sometimes it’s not clear how everything else rolls up into that.”
President Miquel del Valle: How do you read the increase given that we’ve had universal pre-k in place for some time and it’s well known that we have more capacity — we can serve more children — than what we’re serving now
CPS: Universal pre-K is “certainly contributing to the increase that we’ve seen”
CPS: “As a mother of preschool aged children, parents had to make really difficult decisions during” the fall of the pandemic, “i think what we saw in 2021 and some of 2022 was a lot of parents trying to find the right fit for their family” …
CPS: “As our schools open full time and we are expanding options … more families are making the choice to move into a CPS preschool”
del Valle: With the number of private options people have, there’s potential to grow still. We need to figure out how to capture those people.
Revuluri: Is it possible to get information about the population of school-aged people in the city? To figure out if it’s a population change, enrollment choices or something else that’s driving this data
CPS: We don’t know about the students who never come to CPS but we can identify those that leave the district or go to other schools
Moving now into the presentation on the proposed Near South High School — a highly contentious project in the community.
Martinez is presenting:
“People have presented this as an or — either you build a new school or you invest in old schools.. “I’ve never seen this as an or, for me it’s always been an end.” https://t.co/cLzh5NcAFC
“People have presented this as an or — either you build a new school or you invest in old schools.. “I’ve never seen this as an or, for me it’s always been an end.” https://t.co/cLzh5NcAFC
“Today, the votes your taking is to take this in a direction but we’re not bringing to you the whole capital item … we’re bringing steps to get us in that direction” https://t.co/aolyBe2iEx
The vote on two parcels of land that will be used to build the school will only be formalized after HUD approval.
Martinez: “What I want you to think about and ask the question, when we identify the actual need we’re trying to serve — the actual need — is this the best location to serve that need? In terms of geography, in terms of the message that we’re sending to children,”
Martinez: You’re also voting on another level of public engagement
Martinez: “The actual families that would be serviced by the school — they’re in support … but they have questions because we have a history of not giving access to the students that we intend … that’s their concern, how do we know we’re actually going to be able to go to it?”
Fatima Cook is now presenting on the stakeholder engagement the team has facilitated:
Cook: The team has engaged with over 730 parents and community members https://t.co/y4pW3fxVc1
Cook: It is important to note that the engagement thus far is “is only the beginning” and the process will include the broader region, not only Near South
Alfonso Carmona is now presenting on the data they used to determine need for the high school https://t.co/2rbSNZBdB4
Carmona: Currently, Black students in the region attend 96 different schools across the city
Other sites that were considered, including the 78. https://t.co/Hmb6I2mBkI
The 78 site was proposed by multiple public commenters as a better location for the school https://t.co/PkSIbhUcZ7
One key benefit to the 24th and state site is the lack of need for redrawing enrollment boundaries, Carmona said https://t.co/86n8eIq26d
Ann McKenzie, from CHA: The board has committed that if this goes through those 244 units will return to the Ickes site https://t.co/xIExjuc2QS
The first phase is currently leasing, with a total of 206 units. 1C, the next phase, has more potential for larger families, Mckenzie said.
Working on breaking ground in 2023 https://t.co/4uKGADbQly
Working on breaking ground in 2023 https://t.co/4uKGADbQly
“We at the CHA want to bring back communities and neighborhoods — neighborhoods aren’t just housing. Neighborhoods are schools, recreation, libraries, grocery stores … those are all parts of the community,” McKenzie said https://t.co/GePmkS1Urn
The Wabash properties were “key” to the discussions for this plan — “we can keep the same amount of land for the Southbridge redevelopment and — i liked that, ‘and’ not or — have a school,” Mckenzie said.
Martinez: I’m a visual learner. For me, when I saw this picture and what i see is … fields, brand new high school and I see housing … I had to ask myself, when is the last time that we built a neighborhood high school for our Black community?
Martinez: We visited schools in that area, the South Loop. I’ve always been inspired when I see the diversity in these schools — “that will be the vision for this school”
Martinez: Even if you approve the elements today, this is not the actual capital plan. … Capital plan will come later in the school year and will actually include investments, as we have shared with you what our blueprints are, that will prioritize our neighborhood schools
That concludes the presentation, first question is from Michael Scott Jr: Help me understand a little more about this process of returning
Scott: What I’m really trying to get at is the commitment from CHA, how you’ll live up to it and how do you entice people to come back to a community?
Whitney Young was a catalyst for bringing the community around it back.
Whitney Young was a catalyst for bringing the community around it back.
CHA: When we demolished lots of high rises, we gave our lease holders a “right to return” … we currently have a list of about 200 waiting … anyone on the larger list can change their return preferences to Ickes, or elsewhere
CHA: We’re gonna have 244 units on this site, so we have the capacity to take in all of our right to return. The need, with a high school there, will definitely grow.
Scott: Alderwoman Dowell and Lee “are in the trenches” as Alders and they are “staunch” advocates for their residents.
During election season, a time when they’re looking for votes from their constituents, they wouldn’t vote for this if their people didn’t want it.
During election season, a time when they’re looking for votes from their constituents, they wouldn’t vote for this if their people didn’t want it.
Scott: “It is unjust to not have a school for a community that is growing in rapid numbers and a lot of those folks that are in that community are those of the African American minority,”
Scott: It is absurd that I have to take all three of my children who are in CPS out of their community for school …
Scott: “We built in communities that are not of color, we’ve built in latinx neighborhoods — we have not built in an African American neighborhood. That is a crime and that is a shame”
Scott: “If we cannot have wholesome conversations about what our investments will be before we get in the ground, then this is not a measure that I will be supporting down the line.”
Joyce Chapman: I echo everything that Scott said. “We really have got to be involved in community groups — this is not a one and done, check box.”
Suelma Medrano Novak: “We want to support and that would be a beautiful thing to offer our city and our students but I do think it’s important for us to think about procedures and make sure we’re making thorough decisions.”
Novak asks for clarity on the vote today: Is it essentially 1) voting indirectly that the school is moving forward with a building date of July 2023, 2) that the location will be 2450 S State and 3) this will be achieved though the direct proposal: a lease and purchase agreements
Martinez: You’re definitely voting on planning steps — acquisition of the land, leasing the land for 99 years, and to begin the engagement process of the public building commission
Martinez: “You’re not actually approving the project to be approved as a whole, you’re not actually approving for a shovel to go in the ground — it really, it does set a direction”
Novak: What it appears is we’re voting on the location, so some of the feedback we’re getting is “what about 78?” so … “it sounds like today were saying ‘we’re moving forward with a neighborhood school and it’s going forward at this location’” …
Novak: “Otherwise why are we purchasing the land and lease now with a shovel date of July 2023?” … “I just want to be clear on what I’m voting on today”
Novak: “If it’s authorization to begin negotiations with a lease, to find out the lease terms and approve at a different date, that might be a little different… I get that this is part of the planning process but it sounds like it’s more than just starting negotiations”
CPS: “You are being asked to authorize the acquisition of property that will ultimately be the place on which a new high school will be constructed if the Board approves a capital plan in the spring that includes construction of that school.”
Novak: Ok, so we are in fact approving the school moving forward at this location but there’s a condition that if we don’t approve this Capitol plan then the project won’t move forward
Martinez: “I want to be transparent — we are definitely proposing the location because we have analyzed the different sites and those other sites are not feasible.”
Martinez: “With all due respect to opinions out there, the problem that I’m trying to solve doesn’t get solved as easily with those other locations … which is our Black students being dispersed to 95 high schools and our asian students having to travel so far”
Martinez; We will accept all students, of course, but that is the priority
Novak: So if the capital plan isn’t approved, is there a way out of that lease? or what happens there?
Joseph Moriarty: that’s part of what’s being authorized, for … the negotiation of terms for what would happen in the event that not approving the plan prevents construction from starting and how the deal would unwind at that point
Revuluri: How does creating this one school address our larger concerns for high quality education for every child in every neighborhood?
Revuluri: “What is the urgency in approving this at this meeting? I don’t really understand why we would be doing this if we don’t want to go ahead with the entire plan for the school”
and asks where the money is coming from for this
and asks where the money is coming from for this
Martinez: This speed is only way to put this on a reasonable timeline … “We have to be consistent with how we’ve served need like this in the past”
Martinez: We have always addressed need at a local level … “our blueprint is grounded in investing in neighborhood schools”
Martinez said he feels this project, that has the potential to grow the surrounding area, is very aligned with their equity mission
Revuluri asks again about funding
Martinez: Next year you’ll receive the capital and operating budget, “we’re designing a financial model … to really have balanced budgets … that doesn’t concern me.” … What you’re approving today is mostly from TIF funding.
Martinez: Next year you’ll receive the capital and operating budget, “we’re designing a financial model … to really have balanced budgets … that doesn’t concern me.” … What you’re approving today is mostly from TIF funding.
Moriarty: $7M comes from TIF, $3.3M and change comes from capital funds for management and support
In respect to why now, “it’s available and there’s a willing seller … CHA has to go through a process with its regulators, with HUD … which is not an easy or short process
In respect to why now, “it’s available and there’s a willing seller … CHA has to go through a process with its regulators, with HUD … which is not an easy or short process
Todd-Breland: “With so much need across the district, it boggles my mind … why this project has been able to jump to the front of the line”
Todd-Breland: “Integration and desegregation in and of itself does not mean equity. those have been strategic tools that have been used at various times in fact to advance white supremacy.”
Todd-Breland: “I don’t want us to start talking about those things and have them as goals outside of the context of who wins and who loses when we do these things.”
Todd-Breland: All Near South HS dollars were supposed to be stricken from the 2023 capital plan… but I understand this is coming out of “project management and capital systems support” … How does the real estate part of this purchase make sense for that fund?
Todd-Breland: How are we supposed to square as Board members when we were told explicitly all things for Near South have been stricken from the June vote around the Capital plan that now you’re coming back and taking things out of the Capital plan explicitly for a Near South HS?
CPS: The majority of funding is coming from TIF funding, but the additional numbers appropriately come out of that line
Todd: Even though it doesn’t say real estate?
CPS: correct
Todd: Even though it doesn’t say real estate?
CPS: correct
Todd-Breland: “As a part of this board that has asked now for three years in a row for a list of every project that is part of this capital plan and this project was explicitly taken out of that — it feels like a broken promise and a breach of trust that that’s happening”
Todd-Breland: “I just think it’s a procedural problem and defies the conversation that we explicitly had around this point.”
Todd-Breland: “For me, as a board member, it feels inappropriate — again, with one of our main roles as a Board being financial oversight component here — that this is being done in this way”
“We haven’t done this for other items and I’m not okay with it happening” for this one
“We haven’t done this for other items and I’m not okay with it happening” for this one
Todd-Breland: “We don’t know enough to vote for any of these items. It feels like a misuse of public money to do this right now. There’s no actual urgency to decide on this today”
Todd-Breland: “A no vote doesn’t say this never happened, it provides the time to actually assess true need, figure out what dollars actually exist forreal forreal before moving forward,”
Todd-Breland: “Voting for these items will compromise our credibility and our integrity as a Board and that’s why I won’t be voting for any of them,”
Revuluri: “Our standards as a board when we make these decisions has to be what’s best for all our students in every neighborhood.”
Revuluri: I would say that [dropping enrollment] in itself isn’t a problem, but problems arise when we don’t look forward or consider how decisions can do “further damage to where we are now”
Revuluri: “We are failing to do our role in this process, we are failing to govern effectively” if “we don’t step back and look at the bigger picture”
Revuluri: We have to act in a coherent way, and one-offs is not the way to do that. “Given the existing inequities, given the impacts of COVID, given the impending fiscal constraints — we have to be strategic,”
Revuluri: “I do not feel comfortable voting to take this step based entirely on faith. I don’t really understand what the urgency is. I don’t feel like my question of how it’d it’s into the strategic approach has been answered”
Revuluri: This is not about one isolated decision or one step in an isolated decision, it’s important we consider what it means for our students in the long term
Martinez: I appreciate the in depth conversation. “I see the need — I would it bring something to you that I don’t see a need for.”
Martinez: “We always have to address needs while working on a longer term plan. And sometimes it’s messy — it really just is.”
Emmanuel, the Student Board Member: “I felt like that was financial algebra going on here — so I’ve learned a lot already”
Emmanuel: If I’m not mistaken, you can lease an apartment and then move in immediately — that is what’s happening, right?
Martinez: It’s a lease but won’t be acted on until capital plan is set up
Emmanuel: For funding, it’s all secured?
Martinez: I’m confident that we will be able to work with the city and state to establish a capital plan
Martinez: I’m confident that we will be able to work with the city and state to establish a capital plan
Emmanuel: Housing vs education came up a lot and a lot of people are worried about housing — so, to me this seems like a timing problem… So what goes first? Housing or education?
Martinez: The information we have right now is based on the current students and anticipating future housing. The need right now will be exasperated by more residents — which is a good thing — but the need we’ve identified today is based on the kids we have currently in that area
The floor is now open to questions or comments to items on the public agenda — though those items will be voted on separately
Motion for approval of Record of Proceedings from Meeting on Aug 24
Currently reading through a motion to amend a bunch of bundled resolutions: https://t.co/F1VJzmHAx7
Moving onto additional items on the agenda that do not require a vote — all marked received and filed https://t.co/yu5u6CpxwN
Both items are adopted by the board, both by a vote 4 to 3. https://t.co/nSmnDyheFU
4 vs 3 vote to approve again for final Near South HS item https://t.co/I04k9QyEKz
Another bundle of items — passes unanimously https://t.co/MkPGKHbtIm
Third bundle — motion passes unanimously https://t.co/1EEatSJHZz
Another bundle — motion passes unanimously https://t.co/LAGzaTjqy9
Motion to adopt and maintain meeting records from Aug 24 closed session as confidential — passes unanimously
No further items on the public agenda. The board is now approving motion to move into closed session.
The remaining items on the agenda will be considered during closed session (appointment of chief officers, report in principal contract), so that’s all for today!
Attachments
Agency Information
Chicago Public Schools
The Chicago Board of Education is charged with governing the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), setting policies, governing operations, and charting the direction of current and future programs.
A list of board members (with headshots) is here. Board members are currently appointed by the mayor. In 2021, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill into law that will gradually transition to a 21-member elected school board over the course of 2024-2027.
A list of CPS executive leadership is here.
Documents
11/20/2019
9/28/2022
3/23/2022
9/28/2022
9/28/2022
9/28/2022
9/28/2022