The final list of schools recommended for closure by the Chicago Public Schools was announced on March 21. It includes shuttering 61 buildings, many of them in predominantly African-American communities that serve many of Chicago’s poorest residents. In addition to closing 53 school programs and one high school, some turnarounds will be created and 11 schools could be co-located within existing school buildings.
Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett has promised upgrades at the schools that will “welcome” students from shuttered buildings next fall. Some of the upgrades include advanced fine arts programs, International Baccalaureate courses, STEM offerings, and technology upgrades. The New York Times even reported that students in grades 3 through 8 at some schools would receive iPads.
The Chicago Public Schools district currently operates 681 school buildings. While the 54 schools represent just under 8 percent of that total, the number of buildings that might close nevertheless is the highest for one district in recent history.
The board will conduct three public hearings on each closure, two in the affected neighborhoods, and one in CPS headquarters on Clark Street downtown. A final vote on the closures is expected on May 22.
If all the buildings on the list are closed, the district expects to save about $1 billion, including $560 million in capital expenditures and $43 million per year over the next 10 years in operating expenses. Some studies point out that savings sometimes don’t add up to districts’ expectations, including this one from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Parents protested the closures, expressing concerns that sending students to new schools and taking them away from familiar teachers and out of familiar neighborhoods will be detrimental to their education, USA Today reports.
Many of the city’s aldermen from affected neighborhoods have vowed to do what they can to rescue the schools between now and the final vote, according to a report in the Tribune. “It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” one alderman was quoted as saying, invoking the words of Yogi Berra.
