In a story that will likely fly under the radar this week due to the convention and other electoral politics, it should be noted that a sizable protest is taking place this week in Chicago. In a plea for school funding, nearly 1,000 Chicago Public School students and some of their parents descended upon New Trier Township High School, a wealthy public school in Chicago’s north side Northfield suburb.
State Senator James Meeks (D-Chicago), who is leading the boycott, is calling upon the Illinois legislature to amend funding policies of Chicago Public Schools, which have been notoriously weak for years. The complaints revolve around funding discrepancies between city public schools and wealthy suburbs like Winnetka and Northfield, where New Trier maintains campuses.
While it is unlikely that reform will occur, that 1,000 students and their parents were requesting to file applications at New Trier indicates that the broken Chicago Public School system could be a candidate for reform. To make up the $6000 difference in funding per student between some suburbs and the city schools, school vouchers might be an option. Unfortunately, with the Chicago political machine that produced Barack Obama in power, school reform is unlikely and these protesting families will have to endure the sub-par education the city provides.
