Years Later

After a number of years, the ugly head of a scandal at CPS is continuing to rear its ugly head. The transgression involves Gary Solomon, co-owner of SUPES Academy, and Barbara Byrd-Bennett the CEO of the Chicago Public Schools and the planned kickback of dollars to the then CEO in return for SUPES being awarded a contract with the school system. That kickback never took place.

Both Byrd-Bennett and Solomon have plead guilty to some charges and each will likely serve some time.

This has nothing to do with day-to-day learning at the schools but it is worth commenting on for another reason. The issues facing CPS are many and this lingering episode merely adds one more chapter of negativity that everyone could do without. Amid the ongoing financial woes facing the schools, this problem gives the naysayers further ammunition to condemn the work of the schools at a time when the schools, the students and teachers need support.

Dick