Rep. Greg Harris • 13th District
District Update • October 23, 2015
Elected School Board Town Hall Meeting
Please join me and parents, Local School Council members, community organizations and education policy thought leaders for a discussion on changing the leadership of the Chicago Public Schools from an appointed school board to an elected school board.
Decisions about resource allocation, per pupil budgeting, arts, music, advanced placement, ESL, sports and after school programming, special education funding, capital improvements, curriculum, testing and so many others which dramatically affect our families and our neighborhoods are made by the school board every month, but do we as a community really have a say in who makes these decisions? CPS is the only school district in Illinois where residents and parents do not elect school board members. I believe it is time for a change.
In the recent Municipal Elections, voters in the 13th District voted overwhelmingly FOR an elected school board in the Advisory Referendums. However, Governor Rauner has vowed to veto this law and keep an appointed board….it’s time to organize and change his mind.
There are many reasons that we need to take back control of our schools. We have seen our neighborhood schools losing resources for enrichment programs such as music, art, sports, foreign languages, advanced placement and special education. This year, CPS is proposing over $8.7 million in cuts to schools in our area. Meanwhile, CPS leaders are involved in pay-to-play scandals.
At the same time the Board is cutting our schools and asking for a property tax increase, we will be paying $238 million in termination fees to banks and investors to get us out of interest rate swaps and other financial deals that the CPS Board itself instigated. The amount that is being cut to local schools and programs citywide is just about equal to the amount that is being paid out in the toxic swap termination agreements
I hope you will join us to be part of this discussion and part of the movement to make change.
Rep. Greg Harris Town Hall Meeting
On an Elected Chicago School Board
Thursday, November 12
Institute for Cultural Affairs—5th City Room
4750 N. Sheridan Road
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Also, please sign our on-line petition to change the law and change to an elected school board. Please share this link on your social media and pass it to your friends! http://bit.ly/electedschoolboard-harris