On the Horizon...CPS School Closings

There's liable to be some real fireworks at the February CPS Board of Education meeting. Why will sparks fly you ask? The board will vote on closing a number of Englewood high schools; Hope, Harper, Robeson and Team Englewood. There are plenty individuals from these respective schools who are rightly upset.

Here's a bit of the background. Enrollments at these four schools is down anywhere between 70% to 85% over the past decade. CPS wants to close all four of these schools and spend nearly $85 million on one new school in order to try and keep the Englewood students in their neighborhood.

This dollar figure is but one of the sore points that confounds residents who care deeply about these four schools. And this reality concerning the loss of Hope, Harper, Robeson and Team Englewood is a deep wound that must be addressed.

I'll continue to follow this story as it gives one a snapshot into the ever increasing reality of school closings throughout Urban America.

Dick