Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Dan
schools: keeping schools that are 75% under-enrolled open is a completely irresponsible waste of tax dollars.
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Most of the low-hanging fruit re:school closings has already taken place, and South/West Side communities seem to have adapted with the help of Safe Passage and other efforts, so the negative effects are very overblown by liberals who are predisposed to support any and all school funding.
But I'd also argue that the school closures have had little or no positive effect on childrens' education, either. The schools remaining open probably have larger class sizes and the teachers have even more kids to teach. Any budget savings from the closures just got dumped into the giant gaping pit of pension obligations, instead of giving teachers more resources and cleaner, healthier schools to teach in.
Educating poor urban youth is a problem that nobody really has the answer to, and not for lack of trying. I'm left to wonder whether the school system can really address these problems at all, or if we need to start looking at policies that change the home environment. Something like a state-run system of boarding schools that parents could opt into for a nominal tuition.
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