Local School Council elections scheduled amid power struggle 

By William S. Bike 

Chicagoans will elect local school councils (LSCs) for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) on Wednesday, April 16, for high schools and Thursday, April 17, for elementary schools, amid charges that the CPS is trying to curb the LSCs’ power.

    Polls will be open all day at the schools themselves.

                LSCs were created under the 1988 School Reform Act to involve Chicago's communities in their schools. Community residents elect LSC members; LSCs are composed of parents, community residents, teachers, and principals. High school LSCs also include a student representative.

                Each LSC must approve and monitor the school's budget, approve the school improvement plan, and select and evaluate the school principal.

                When formed in 1988, the LSCs were a rare experiment in community empowerment. With schools failing in Chicago at the time, local and State legislators threw up their hands and figured that if they could not solve the schools' myriad problems, maybe community residents could. In the beginning, LSC elections offered a refreshing show of complete democracy, even allowing undocumented aliens to vote.

                As schools have improved over the years, however, some charge that government officials are trying to eviscerate the LSCs' powers and take back control.

                One group making such a charge is Parents United for Responsible Education (PURE). On Feb. 7, PURE announced a lawsuit by three LSCs against the CPS "for improperly eliminating local school councils in certain schools in violation of State law," said Julie Woestehoff, PURE executive director.

                "CPS has changed these LSCs from empowered, elected bodies into toothless advisory groups appointed by the Board of Education," Woestehoff continued. "We are asking for a declaratory judgment; that is, for the court to find that CPS is in violation of the law.

                "Since the mayor [Richard M. Daley] took over the schools in 1995, CPS has developed a sorry history of attacking LSCs at every level, in spite of a strong body of research evidence that LSCs have been a key element of the most successful improvements in Chicago's schools," she said.

                That year, an exemption to the law was passed allowing schools CPS designates as "alternative" or "small" to be governed by CPS instead of an LSC. CPS was prohibited from doing this, however, "in a school building which has a legally constituted LSC," according to the law

                "CPS has ignored this part of the law," Woestehoff asserted. "In fact, under Arne Duncan's [CPS CEO] administration and Renaissance 2010 [the CPS plan to create 100 new schools], CPS has basically driven a Mack truck through this small loophole in the school reform law and completely ignored the exception that forbids replacement of a real LSC in a building that has an LSC."

                CPS spokeswoman Anitra R. Schulte said concerning the lawsuit, "We have filed a motion" to dismiss the suit, "because we believe the action does not state a claim." Because the matter is in litigation, she declined further comment pending resolution of the matter in court.

                The State Legislature has gotten involved in the dispute as well. Last year, 6th District State Representative Esther Golar, with other local Reps Cynthia Soto (4th), Elga Jefferies (26th), and Arthur Turner (9th) co-sponsoring, introduced a resolution that supports empowerment of LSCs as effective local, publicly elected decision-making bodies in the City of Chicago and the State sponsorship of subject-matter hearings on the needs of LSCs to ensure their continued success. The House passed the resolution, and Mattie Hunter of the 3rd District introduced it into the State Senate, where the bill still is pending.

                At the Jan. 28 LSC advisory board meeting held in the South Loop, attendees were informed about consolidating a number of schools in the CPS system. One LSC advisory board member complained LSCs tend to "disappear" or lose their powers in CPS-consolidated schools. Another noted an LSC obviously cannot do the important task of principal evaluations if there is no LSC at a school.

                For more information, call the CPS LSC hotline at (773) 553-1400 or the CPS Office of Communications at (773) 553-1620 or visit www.cp.sk12.il.us.

                According to information provided to the Gazette on March 20, Chicago Public Schools in this community holding elections for LSCs are:

 

HIGH SCHOOLS, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16

                Best Practices, 2040 W. Adams St., (773) 534-7610.

                Bronzeville, 3519 S. Giles Ave., (773) 534-9750.

                Clemente, 1147 N. Western Ave., (773) 534-4000.

                Crane, 2245 W. Jackson Blvd., (773) 534-7550.

                Dunbar, 3000 S. King Dr., (773) 534-9000.

                Ray Graham, 2347 S. Wabash Ave., (773) 534-9257.

                Jones, 606 S. State St., (773) 534-8600.

                Juarez, 2150 S. Laflin St., (773) 534-7030.

                Simpson, 1231 S. Paulina St., (773) 534-7812.

                Wells, 936 N. Ashland Ave., (773) 534-7010.

                Whitney Young, 211 S. Laflin St., (773) 534-7500.

 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, THURSDAY, APRIL 17

                Abbott, 3630 S. Wells St., (773) 535-1660.

                H.G. Andersen, 1148 N. Honore St., (773) 534-4276.

                Armour, 950 W. 33rd Pl., (773) 535-4530.

                Attucks, 3813 S. Dearborn St., (773) 535-1270.

                W. Brown, 54 N. Hermitage Ave., (773) 534-7250.

                Carpenter, 1250 W. Erie St., (773) 534-7385.

                Chopin, 2450 W. Rice St., (773) 534-4080.

                Columbus, 1003 N. Leavitt St., (773) 534-7205.

                Cooper, 1624 W. 19th St., (773) 534-7205.

                Creiger, 2040 W. Adams St., (773) 534-7490.

                De La Cruz, 2317 W. 23rd Pl., (773) 535-4585.

                Dett, 2306 W. Maypole Ave., (773) 534-7160.

                Doolittle Inter., 535 E. 35th St., (773) 535-1040.

                Drake, 2722 S. King Dr., (773) 534-9129.

                Foundations, 2040 W. Adams St., (773) 534-7490.

                Franklin, 225 W. Evergreen Ave., (773) 534-8510.

                Galileo, 820 S. Carpenter St., (773) 534-7070.

                Gladstone, 1321 S. Damen Ave., (773) 534-7266.

                Haines, 247 W. 23rd Pl., (773) 534-9200.

                Healey, 3010 S. Parnell Ave., (773) 534-9190.

                Hendricks, 4316 S. Princeton Ave., (773) 535-1696.

    Herbert, 2131 W. Monroe St., (773) 534-7806.

    Hernandez, 2245 W. Jackson Blvd., (773) 534-7550.

                Holden, 1104 W. 31st St., (773) 535-7200.

                Irving, 749 S. Oakley Blvd., (773) 534-7295.

                Andrew Jackson, 1340 W. Harrison St., (773) 534-7000.

                N. Jefferson, 1100 S. Hamilton Ave., (312) 433-7110.

                Jungman, 1746 S. Miller St., (773) 534-7375.

                King, 740 S. Campbell Ave., (773) 534-7890.

                LaSalle, 1734 N. Orleans St., (773) 534-8470.

                Medill, 1301 W. 14th St., (773) 534-7750.

                Mitchell, 2233 W. Ohio St., (773) 534-7655.

                Montefiore, 1310 S. Ashland Ave., (773) 534-7825.

                National Teachers Academy, 55 W. Cermak Rd., (773) 534-9970.

                Near North Special Ed., 739 N. Ada St., (773) 534-7846.

                Nia, 2040 W. Adams St., (773) 534-7494.

                Ogden, 24 W. Walton St., (773) 534-8110.

                Orozco, 1940 W. 18th St., (773) 534-7215.

                Otis, 525 N. Armour St., (773) 534-7665.

                Peabody, 1444 W. Augusta Blvd., (773) 534-4170.

                Perez, 1241 W. 19th St., (773) 534-7650.

                Perspectives Charter, 1930 S. Archer Ave., (312) 225-7400.

                Pickard, 2301 W. 21st Pl., (773) 535-7280.

                Pilsen, 1420 W. 17th St., (773) 534-7675.

                Rudolph, 110 N. Paulina St., (773) 534-7460.

                Sabin, 2216 W. Hirsch St., (773) 534-4491.

                Salazar, 160 W. Wendell St., (773) 534-8310.

                Schiller, 640 W. Scott St., (773) 534-8490.

                Sheridan, 533 W. 27th St., (773) 534-9120.

                Skinner, 111 S. Throop St., (773) 534-7790.

                J. Smyth, 1059 W. 13th St., (773) 534-7180.

                South Loop, 1212 S. Plymouth Ct., (773) 534-8690.

                Suder, 2022 W. Washington Blvd., (773) 534-7685.

                Talcott, 1840 W. Ohio St., (773) 534-7130.

                Walsh, 2015 S. Peoria St., (773) 534-7950.

                J. Ward, 2701 S. Shields Ave., (773) 534-9050.

                Whittier, 1900 W. 23rd St., (773) 535-4590.

                Williams, 2710 S. Dearborn St., (773) 534-9226.