Chicago parents have filed a complaint with the city's Inspector General after the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) decided last week to postpone its public hearing on new school proposals for the Dyett High School campus.
The parents are with the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett High School, which held a Friday morning press conference at City Hall to announce the complaint's filing.
The Coalition to Revitalize Dyett is one of three groups behind separate proposals to open a new high school at the now-closed Dyett site, located at 555 E. 51st St.
CPS announced last Friday that its hearing on the proposals, which was supposed to take place at the start of this week, was pushed back to September 15.
Coalition members take issue with the "lack of information" they have received from CPS regarding its proposal and hearing process for Dyett.
"There is no still no clear and public criteria or rubric for the (request for proposals) and no stated time [in its news release about the rescheduled hearing] for a CPS Board vote for Dyett," the coalition said in a news release. "Dyett members are extremely concerned and are disadvantaged by this lack of information and blatant exclusion."
The coalition has been advocating for its proposal to create a "global leadership and green technology" school at Dyett since the group launched nearly two years ago.
"[S]ince submitting the proposal, Chicago Public Schools has failed to provide the Coalition to Revitalize Dyett with critical information, given them misinformation, and shown other groups favoritism by doling out unauthorized exceptions," the coalition's release added. "These efforts are serving to block the coalition out of the (request for proposals) process and weaken their ability to present a strong proposal."
The district is in the midst of dealing with its 2016 budget. CPS said the district needed to extend the Dyett RFP process, which began back in December, and delay the public hearing to ensure there was "adequate time to review community feedback and proposals."
The board of education could vote on a Dyett proposal recommended by the district at its September 29 meeting, according to CPS.