CPS won’t close early despite judge’s ruling
Saturday, Apr 29, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
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* Sun-Times…
Chicago Public Schools will not close three weeks early, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Friday, even though the nearly bankrupt school district lost its bid for a court order mandating a change in what it calls a discriminatory school funding formula.
“The kids of the city of Chicago will be in school until the end of the year because that’s where they belong,” Emanuel said at a late afternoon news conference.
The mayor did not outline how he plans to keep CPS in session — or what source he may have found for a “bridge loan” needed to keep the doors open past June 1.
“We will be here working to find the resources,” he said.
* Tribune…
Judge Franklin Ulyses Valderrama said that CPS could file an amended complaint by May 26. City and CPS officials were quick to praise sections of Valderrama’s 44-page ruling that carefully summarized the complexities of the case.
“The Court is not oblivious to the fiscal challenges confronting CPS,” Valderrama wrote. “To say that the State’s current scheme of funding public education is broken is to state the obvious. Plaintiffs’ Complaint, however, as constituted is not the vehicle to redress this inequity.”
Valderrama also wrote that the state’s argument that CPS could simply borrow more money to solve its problems was “eerily reminiscent” of the “let them eat cake” comment often attributed to the last French queen, Marie Antoinette, in response to the plight of her people.
One CPS official said that city and school authorities were debating whether to press ahead with the case.
Valderrama’s ruling represents a serious blow to CPS in its efforts to pressure the state to give it more money. District CEO Forrest Claypool persistently had warned the school year could end as early as June 1 without additional state funding.
The full ruling is here.
* You can click on all the images for a much better view. Here’s the “let them eat cake” passage…
The Rauner administration’s argument is “starkly out of touch with reality.” Hmm.
* Now, to the gist of the ruling…
In other words, the requested court action wouldn’t automatically obtain the result that CPS says it wants.
* This is pretty self explanatory…
* Conclusion…
Valderrama is a heckuva good judge.
