In her solid recap of the Chicago schools boycott in the Washington Post , Chicago-based reporter Kari Lydersen makes two key insights into what's driving the push for reform. Here's the first:
The nonprofit Education Trust calculates that although the average gap in per-pupil spending across the country between high-income districts and low-income ones was $938 in 2005, the gap was $2,235 in Illinois. Only New York had a larger gap that year.
While the disparity between Chicago districts and its neighboring suburbs is stark -- both economically and spatially -- unequal education funding doesn't just affect city residents; resources aren't distributed equitably to students downstate or in poor suburbs either.
This next point is equally crucial:
A recent analysis by the nonprofit Chicago-based Community Renewal Society found that statewide, lower-income districts have voted for higher property tax rates than wealthier areas, but the resulting funds raised for schools are still inadequate because property values are lower.
Parents, teachers, and neighbors in Illinois' low-income communities aren't dumb. They know the state isn't providing adequate educational resources for their children. These citizens are willing to contribute more of their tax dollars to resolve this problem, too. But along with the dysfunctional Democratic leadership in Springfield, it's resource-rich suburban voters and legislators -- reluctant to reform a fundamentally unfair system because it might ding their pocketbooks a bit -- that are ultimately preventing change.
Thankfully, the governor has agreed to meet with State Sen. James Meeks to discuss the issue. Here's to hoping the meeting will be productive.
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