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posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, May 21, 15 @ 8:49 am

Comments

I’m looking for one of these “It’s for the CHILDREN!” advocacy groups, which REALLY are about funneling as much money into the school bureaucracies as they can with NO accountability for better student outcomes, to actually dig down and find better ways to spend the “investments” in education in the best interests of the students and community. For example, CPS spends about the same per student as Naperville 203 and much more per student than Southern Naperville Indian Prairie 204, yet facilities and quality of education, as well as contact hours for staff, are FAR worse in CPS than these districts. Rich Township HS district 227 spends about the same as Hinsdale 86, yet the quality of education and opportunities they receive are FAR less in Olympia Fields than Hinsdale. How are the resources spent differently? What is the BEST way to spend resources to benefit the students? When those kind of questions are asked by these kind of “advocacy” organizations, perhaps they can be taken as more than shills to fatten eduocracy pockets.

Comment by Arizona Bob Thursday, May 21, 15 @ 9:24 am
=== 9:51 AMTwitter Monique Garcia
@moniquegarcia
End of session advice from this faded stop sign. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CFiaBCLWoAAkORQ.jpg ===

I see this as symbolic of the mixed and unclear messages we get from our elected officials working there.

Comment by Norseman Thursday, May 21, 15 @ 11:23 am
Bob, you could pick some better examples. Since Naperville is under 15% low income, Indian Prairie is less than 20% and CPS is over 85% of course there are going to be numerous challenges faced by CPS that don’t exist in Naperville and that would affect per pupil spending.

Comment by MyTwoCents Thursday, May 21, 15 @ 2:02 pm
My2cents, I’m certainly not claiming that outcomes should be the same in CPS and Naperville, but the quality of service for the same cost should be.

The problem is that what the students are getting for their money far less. Naperville 203 has aging but state of the art learning facilities. Chicago could do the same if it was interested more in getting things done for the kids than who gets the jobs and contracts.

CPS pays about the highest per teacher contact hour than any major city, but putting the money there hasn’t gotten the job done.

Houston students get the equivalent of two weeks more schooling than CPS students every year because student service is a priority over feeding a failing bureaucracy.

I remember reading how the average ACT score of a Chicago teacher is about 19 in a state where the average HS student is over 20. for this level of quality they’re paid over $75K for 174 short days of work, and lousy student outcomes.

I see CPS was upset because Springfield cut one of their Principal training programs. Sorry, but when you’re paying $130K for a principal, they shouldn’t NEED extra training on the district dime unless they were grossly unqualified for the position (which MANY are).

It’s a matter of asset allocation,and politics and political payback is what drives CPS instead of delivering the best service possible to the students and community. Until that changes, CPS shouldn’t get a nickel more from Springfield. The unions, staff and administration haven’t shown they know how to use it for the students yet.

Comment by Arizona Bob Thursday, May 21, 15 @ 2:54 pm