How godawful are Chicago’s public schools? Let’s just say that they would need remedial help to achieve disgrace status.
But the school officials responible for not educating these students – especially minority students – are putting available funding to good use….
…for themselves, that is.
From Preston Mizell’s article for Fox News, we have this:
Chicago public schools blow millions on travel expenses while students can’t read at grade level
A scathing report from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) revealed that the school system spent a staggering $14.5 million in “excessive” travel expenses in FY 2023 and FY 2024 combined.
The report comes as data shows that just 30.5% of students in grades 3–8 were proficient in reading, and just 18.3% of students were proficient in math in the spring of 2024.
“It is a sad commentary on just how far our city has fallen and how bad the leadership is,” Chicago pastor Corey Brooks told Fox News Digital. “These individuals believe that spending money on themselves benefits our educational system more so than spending it on the children who so rightfully deserve it.”
“In our neighborhood, there’s a 6% reading proficiency,” Brooks added. “And now you’re talking about the overall for Chicago being 30%, that is something that needs to be spoken by everyone who is in power.”
The CPS OIG report showed that the school system spent $7.7 million in FY 2024 alone, a 2,467% increase in travel expenses from FY 2021’s $300,000 spending. Pre-pandemic spending from CPS was still dramatically lower, showing $3.6 million in travel expenses for FY 2019.
CPS OIG’s report also reveals school system officials took lavish trips to Las Vegas, Egypt, Finland and South Africa.
In addition to the proficiency levels for grades 3–8, data also shows that in spring 2024, just 22.4% of CPS 11th graders were proficient in reading based on SAT scores, a test which is required by the state of Illinois. Similarly, 11th graders showed just 18.6% proficiency in math.
In 2024, Chicago’s public school system “boasted” (I have to put that word in quotations) a graduation rate of 85%.
The reality, however, is that a vast majority of children waving those diplomas are unable to read and unable to do basic math. They, therefore, are unable to function in the real world, other than to perform in low-end jobs, do manual labor…or go on assistance, thus become dependent on the political party – guess which one that is – which promises to give it to them (which, let’s be honest, is the real reason so little is being done about this).
But, if given the chance to blow millions and millions of dollars for the, er “educational” trips enumerated above? No problem at all. The people in charge of Chicgo’s public schools get a 100% grade on that.
And with brandon johnson as Chicago’s Mayor, along with j.b. pritzker as Illinois’ Governor, do NOT expect things to get better any time soon.
What a tragedy to the people of Chicago. To the students – especially the Black and Latino students, who are at the lowest end of the cities public school non-education.
Maybe someday they’ll wise up, realize who is doing this to them, and then react accordingly on election day. Obvously, though, that day has not yet come.
I wonder if it ever will.
