State Representative Will Guzzardi has introduced legislation that would all but stop charter school expansion in Illinois.
Guzzardi’s bill would block the opening of any new charter campuses in any school districts with the Illinois State Board of Education’s two lowest financial ratings.
CPS definitely qualifies for that.
Guzzardi’s argument is that if a school district like CPS can’t afford to run the school’s they have, they have no business paying for new charter schools which are paid for out of the district’s budget.
To illustrate the problem, Guzzardi held is press conference announcing the bill at Chicago’s Prosser High School.
Prosser has been hit hard by CPS budget cuts. Yet at the same time, Noble Charter Network opened at brand new school right across the street from Prosser with CPS funding.
Nearly one hundred school districts in the state would be covered by the bill.
The Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) immediately went nuts over the Guzzardi bill. Their reaction suggests the bill has some legs and real support.
The Illinois Network of Charter Schools is pushing back hard against the Guzzardi bill that would limit charter school expansion in cash strapped districts like CPS.
At the presser Guzzardi was joined by state and local officials, including Omar Aquino (D-Chicago), Ald. Milly Santiago (31st), State Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Belmont-Cragin), Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th and home ward of Prosser) as well as local parents and representatives from community groups like Logan Square Neighborhood Association.
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Fred Klonsky 
So a fiscally stressed school district that needs a new school it cannot open a charter but can open a regular school that provides union jobs.
Tell us how this came about!!
Who’s payroll is this guy on?
These ditricts aren’t opening any new schools. No new union jobs are being created so I guess this guy isn’t on the evil union payroll. That evil union that represents interests of middle class workers…
As far as I know, CPS neighborhood schools (non-charter, non-magnet) face under enrollment issues. It’s not about needing new physical schools it’s about charter networks (for profit) manipulating parents to their schools with marketing. So public schools shouldn’t have to compete with charter and private. It’s not a level playing field. Also 2 of Chicago’s charter networks are now unionized so that debunks the notion of the author having the union behind the article argument.
When might this bill come up? Please keep us posted (although that should go w/o saying–you’re an ongoing, most valuable ed. news source).
Many thanks, & looking forward to this sailing through committee so we can get our typing fingers filling out witness slips.