WHEREAS, The City Council of Chicago provides leadership and shapes policy for the families of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, The history of school closures and actions in Chicago has proven to negatively impact academic performance, school closings have exacerbated hardship for communities already suffering from social abandonment, there is no research to support the districts arguments for closing schools; and
WHEREAS, Nearly 50,000 students will be impacted by overall CPS school actions; and
WHEREAS, 80% of these students are black students and this number represents 22% of all black students in the district and 26.5% of all black children living in Chicago between the ages of 5 and 14; and
WHEREAS, 6479 students with disabilities, each of whom has an Individualized Educational Plan; and
WHEREAS, Closing a school often has profound ramifications for the educational experience of children and the surrounding community. Numerous studies have shown that when a school is closed or negative actions take place, student academic outcomes are affected, safety concerns are raised as children have to travel farther and through sometimes dangerous territory, and parental and community confidence in the school system is shaken; and
WHEREAS, CPS indicates that it needs to close, co-locate and turnaround underutilized and underperforming schools in an effort to attempt to close a purported fiscal year 2014 budget deficit; and
WHEREAS, A major factor contributing to the underutilization of CPS schools is the expansion of charter schools in Chicago. Currently, the number of seats available in charter schools amounts to more than half of the reported excess capacity. Moreover, any future expansion of charter schools will further exacerbate this problem; and
WHEREAS, It is not sound fiscal policy to fund the creation of any additional schools while facing such a large gap between enrollment and capacity; and
WHEREAS, CPS should not simultaneously close schools for budget reasons and fund the creation of additional privately operated charter schools; and
WHEREAS, Every seat created in a new charter school potentially increases what CPS has called the "chronic underutilization" of the public schools; therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED that we the undersigned members of the City Council of the City of Chicago do hereby express our desire for the Chicago Board of Education to establish a moratorium on school closings, actions and charter school expansion for the 2014-2015 school year allowing CPS, parents and community members time to fully understand the impact of pending school closures; further
RESOLVED, That the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools shall provide testimony to the City Council of the City of Chicago and to families affected by the proposed school actions on cost savings from planned school closings, any extra security and safety programs for students as well as equipment
upgrades for "welcoming" schools prior to the final vote taken by the Chicago Board of Education; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the City ofChicago School District
upgrades for "welcoming" schools prior to the final vote taken by the Chicago Board of Education; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to the City of Chicago School District 299.