A survey has found that nearly one-third of Chicago’s highest-paid public school teachers do not send their children to the Chicago Public School System (CPS).
Even Stacey Davis Gates, the current leader of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), sends her son to private school, according to the Chicago-based Illinois Policy Institute.
According to federal government data reviewed by the think tank: 31 percent 50% of Chicago Public Schools teachers send their kids to private schools to avoid Child Protective Services.
The data was collected from the 2018-2022 American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, according to the Illinois Policy Institute.
Meanwhile, Gates led the Chicago Teachers Union in a successful campaign to end the state’s education voucher program, which had given 15,000 low-income students the same opportunities his son had thanks to his $289,000 annual salary.
But this huge failure on the part of the schools and the unions doesn’t stop Gates from making unreasonable demands. $10.2 billion CTU’s new contract calls for much more than that.
For reference, Illinois Import With tax revenues at just over $50 billion, the CTU believes it deserves more than a fifth of the state’s total revenue.
For example, CTU Demanding The 9 percent raise would make him one of the highest-paid teachers in the state with a guaranteed starting salary of $61,990, but that’s only on the minimum. ChalkbeatThe average salary for a teacher in Chicago is a staggering $92,500 per year, which is about $6,000 higher than the state average. $86,148 per yearGovSalaies reports.
But Chicago schools are among the lowest performing in the state, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. attentionMore than 21,000 of the city’s 320,300 students do not have basic grade-level skills in math, science and reading.
In fact, in February, 55 schools in the city reported zero students excelling in math and reading.
Speaking at a recent forum in Chicago’s Morgan Park neighborhood, Gates called on the Illinois state government to provide $1 billion in tax revenue for Chicago’s public schools, but said he was uncomfortable calling it a “bailout.”
WATCH: Chicago Teachers Union President Stacey Davis Gates, making opening remarks at tonight’s public negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools, said she finds it “offensive” to call Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s request for more than $1 billion in additional funding a bailout. pic.twitter.com/OT1jD3JMx2
— Austin Berg (@Austin__Berg) August 14, 2024
CTU also Requested The plan would have required the city’s schools to take out $300 million in high-interest payday loans, which would have cost the city $700 million to pay off over 20 years. Luckily, the city schools rejected the plan.
The current contract expired on June 30, but the two sides are still negotiating with no end in sight and school officials are bracing for a teacher strike when the new school year begins.
But despite the CTU’s eagerness to hire, raise teacher pay, and “invest” billions of tax dollars in new spending, the city has been steadily losing students for more than a decade. In 2022, for example, the school system will 8,300 students lostThis marks the 11th consecutive year of such losses.
In fact, many school buildings Shut down They are left abandoned due to a lack of students. In 2013, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed 50 schools in the city, and most of them now sit vacant and unused.
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