Chicago Public Schools Announces Hundreds Of Teacher Layoffs, Pending And Pension Cuts

originally posted by: xuenchen
a reply to: Isurrender73

Not easy in Chicago.

Every Precinct is a Democrat voting pocket.

Yes I know. Arnold tried to get control over the teachers union in California and was voted down. Until the people give our state leaders at least some authority over the unions the unions will control our tax dollars.

It's a bit of insanity if you ask me because it should be obvious that the system is failing the students. And most people left and right agree something is wrong with education in America but the people are so brainwashed that they keep voting to not change it.

a reply to: xuenchen

There is plenty of money. The federal government has plenty of money. The United States has plenty of money. It is who has the money that is the problem.

a reply to: ketsuko

yup. If you can afford to drop at least $1 million for a house in certain parts of the city, you can get access to very good public schools OR if you can afford private school. Otherwise, you are stuck with poor performing schools and will need to move to the suburbs.

With that said, I feel sorry for a lot of the parents who are stuck having to send their kids to glorified day care centers we call schools. Of course, the democrats are all for choice when it comes to killing babies, but don't want anything to do with allowing choices when it comes to actually educating those kids.

However, the blame isn't entirely on the teachers and school system. Most of the issues start at home with bad parenting, but that is another topic. If we are serious about fixing the education system, we first have to admit that not every child needs to be in school...

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: xuenchen

There is plenty of money. The federal government has plenty of money. The United States has plenty of money. It is who has the money that is the problem.

Money is NOT a solution. Money is a tool. Thinking that money will fix it is like thinking that guns cause crime.

The reason there is not enough money in the system is because the system was mismanaged. Promises were made in union contracts that were untenable and unsustainable. Throwing more money into the hole is like thinking that if you just take out one more credit card, it will fix your budget problem.

a reply to: ketsuko

And thinking you can fix it without money is just as foolish. Schools need to be adequately funded and corruption needs to be rooted out. One great way of rooting out corruption is to get rid of the corporate masters like the ones grabbing public education dollars.

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: ketsuko

And thinking you can fix it without money is just as foolish. Schools need to be adequately funded and corruption needs to be rooted out. One great way of rooting out corruption is to get rid of the corporate masters like the ones grabbing public education dollars.

Our school board recently gave our superintendent a new contract.
$125k base salary
$19k insurance allowance
$500 monthly car allowance
3% 401 payment
Standard teacher pension funding, whatever that was...

That kind of contract can't help the situation

Yeah. Lay off teachers, dip into pensions, but I bet that secret prison on Homan Square stays open for business.

Priorities, you know.

a reply to: Edumakated

And when people don't have the money to send their kids there?

Do we lower the price of the privates schools?

What makes them so effective is the amount they can spend on each kid. Also since they generally have less kids, each kid gets more attention.

Something public schools have been trying to get forever.


I would be willing to be this is just fat cats wanting to keep their money, which is not an indication of a system failure but a failure of those executing it.

a reply to: Bluntone22

No, those things don't. I've worked in an inner city school district and I've seen that crap first hand myself.

Again, why do you think so many parents want to get their kids out of those systems?

a reply to: beezzer

Or realizing that schools, like private ones, with more funds tend to give kids a better education.
Strange how that works out but we want to say giving them more funds is not the answer...

So your spider analogy is off base.

originally posted by: MOMof3
a reply to: xuenchen

There is plenty of money. The federal government has plenty of money. The United States has plenty of money. It is who has the money that is the problem.

And all government levels are in massive debt.

Bust-outs never get anything done.

a reply to: Bluntone22

Yes, throwing money at the admin position is not necessarily the answer.
Even though I do find it funny we are criticizing how much some one makes, that isn't our place right?
Ironic.


Most likely it is not what the people saying more funds want to happen either.
I for one would want that extra money to go to teachers pay to incentivize better teachers wanting to teach there.

And the money being spent on the kids.

a reply to: beezzer

Cool beez, true to form.

Are you denying that private schools don't do better because they get more money?
Maybe it is just better kids that go to them /shrug.

Or are you going to talk about spiders again that have zero to do with anything

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: ketsuko

And thinking you can fix it without money is just as foolish. Schools need to be adequately funded and corruption needs to be rooted out. One great way of rooting out corruption is to get rid of the corporate masters like the ones grabbing public education dollars.

Big government has spent money.

And the administrators are all highly educated.

And they fail.

Big fail.

a reply to: Sremmos80

Give them vouchers. Catholic schools educate kids for far less money than public schools. Urban public schools spend like $10k or more per student per year. MONEY IS NOT THE ISSUE.

The issue is complicated. The first issue is that schools represent the communities in which they serve. If you live in a typical Chicago ghetto hood, you are going to have a crappy school. Just that simple. You have 90% or more of the kids coming from single parent homes with no dads. The parents aren't typically educated. Crime, drugs, etc. The schools can't really fix these issues.

The best thing we can do is help the parents that actually give a damn to get their kids out of their local crappy school.

We all will have to put our heads together to figure out what to do with the leftover students. I'd like to see some of these failing schools turned into vocational academies so the students can learn some hard skills. Every kid is not destined for college.

I also think we need some big ideas. Boarding schools. All male schools. All female schools. We need to try different things and we can't allow the teachers unions and bureaucracies to slow down progress.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
Our school board recently gave our superintendent a new contract.
$125k base salary
$19k insurance allowance
$500 monthly car allowance
3% 401 payment
Standard teacher pension funding, whatever that was...

That kind of contract can't help the situation

What's wrong with that contract?

a reply to: Edumakated

So you are basing your theory on how private schools operate now, which is different then public schools, and say the solution is to transfer said public school kids into the private schools. Which means more kids in said private school system...


Essentially turning the school into a public school.

The spending per child is the same but they have less kids to a classroom.

Something teachers have been trying to get for years.

a reply to: Sremmos80

What are you suggesting the problem is?