With lots of attention on community and teacher opposition to the possible closing of up to 129 Chicago public schools, arguments in favor of school consolidation may get muffled.
Here are the top five justifications for closing dozens of Chicago schools, as expressed by Chicago Public Schools officials leading the crusade.
1. Closing some schools frees money to invest in better schools
“By redirecting money from underutilized and dilapidated schools, we will free up resources to invest in quality schools, where all students can flourish with the support of a dedicated community, principals, and teachers. “
— Barbara Byrd-Bennett (CEO of Chicago Public Schools)
2. Students will be sent to better schools
“CEO Byrd-Bennett has stated unequivocally that every child will have the opportunity to attend a designated higher-performing welcoming school in the fall. She will not close a school if that guarantee cannot be met.”
–CPS spokesperson
Email response to education blogger Seth Lavin
3. CPS has the capacity to consolidate 80 schools
“Regarding the potential to move students to better-performing schools, the number of schools CPS might consolidate is limited primarily by the number of higher-performing seats available and the distance between schools. We found that CPS has capacity in better-performing schools to accommodate approximately 80 consolidations, including closures and other school actions such as turnarounds and co-locations.”
–Commission on School Utilization
Independent commission’s final report
4. CPS is facing $1 billion deficit
“Taking no action means we will continue to spread our limited resources much too thin — at a time when we are facing billion dollar deficits over the next three years. The sooner we act the sooner we can combine schools and resources so we can better invest in programs that will support more of our students’ needs.”
–CPS spokesperson
Email response to education blogger Seth Lavin
5. Fifty percent of CPS schools are underutilized
“We have a utilization crisis. 50% of our schools are underutilized and nearly 140 are half empty. This is stretching our resources much too thin. We can’t put off the difficult decisions that need to be made to address this crisis any longer as it will be our kids who suffer in the long run if we do.”
–CPS spokesperson
Email response to education blogger Seth Lavin
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