Posting Date: July 30, 2008
Education Takes Seat In Back of the Class
State Sen. James Meeks (D-15th) has a flair for the grand stage. On first glance, a call for a boycott by Chicago Public School students on the first day of school so they can be enrolled in a North Shore school district seems absurd.
But Meeks, a minister before entering the political pulpit, has not walked softly in this arena. His major emphasis is a better education for Chicago Public School children. The state senator is actually trying to get across to a dysfunctional Illinois legislature that it is a travesty that funding for Chicago Public Schools is lacking in comparison to affluent suburban communities.
He views this as unfair and unjust. The Chicago Public School system is 90 percent minority students. Meeks does not see this as a coincidence that black and Hispanic students do not have the same educational opportunities as wealthier children in tree-lined suburban enclaves.
Well, Meeks may have a point. However, in his status as a state senator, he can do something about it. The problem is getting everyone on board in Springfield. That is a tough task. With Gov. Rod Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan sniping at each other on every occasion, education has taken a back seat. And are suburban and downstate Republicans going to come to the rescue of Chicago Public Schools? Hardly.
So, Meeks calls a press conference informing Chicago Public School kids to skip the first day of school, which is Tuesday, Sept. 2. He and other ministers will instead travel to Winnetka to register Chicago Public School students from blighted areas to go to New Trier High School and other well-heeled facilities on the North Shore. Meeks states that Blagojevich has broken his promise to get more funding for Chicago Public Schools.
Blagojevich has broken a lot of promises. I really believe that Blagojevich wants to come up with more ways to fund Chicago Public Schools. But when you are fighting for your political life, some issues get left behind. Chicago Public School children have been left behind. They have been for years.
Illinois is ranked 48th out of 50 states in funding for education. As long as our state leaders refuse to deal with the issue, the problem will continue to persist. As long as funding for education in Illinois is tied directly to property taxes, there will continue to be disparity among the haves and have-nots.
And that is why Meeks thinks it is necessary to stage this melodrama. No one is listening. Education funding is too often taken for granted. Our state leaders will also have other priorities. Education will just have to wait in the back of the line as state legislators deal with the economy, higher gas prices and building or repairing new bridges.
But Meeks, while maybe well intentioned, is wrong. First of all, Chicago students cannot attend schools in the suburbs. They don’t live in the district. And calling for a boycott on the first day of school just sends the wrong message.
Additional funding for Chicago Public Schools is based on attendance over a three-month period. State legislators who grudgingly approve any funding for Chicago Public Schools would have the excuse to turn their backs on the city kids again if a boycott took place.
Everyone talks about providing more money for education in Illinois, but nothing is done. Money from the state lottery was supposed to go for education. The coins collected from the tolls on the state highways was also supposed to go education.
But funding for education in Illinois will have to wait, unless you can afford to pay for it.
(Joe Boyle is the managing editor of the Southwest News-Herald newspapers on Chicago’s Southwest Side. He can be reached at vonpub@aol.com.)