Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: On the mess at CPS and Rahm's shake up on Clark St.

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: On the mess at CPS and Rahm's shake up on Clark St.:

On the mess at CPS and Rahm's shake up on Clark St.

"We did everything we were supposed to do, but we did not spend enormous amounts of time on every single contract that came through. We had a lot going on. We were closing 50 schools and we were making sure 12,000 kids ended up in the right place."

Then Vitale finally found the black SUV he was looking for, climbed in and rode off. -- Tribune

There's a few pieces worth reading and lots that aren't, about the mess at CPS and Rahm's shake up at Clark Street. Here's some of the better:



Ruthhart and Byrne at the Tribune have a pretty good assessment:

Efficiency is political speak for budget cuts and layoffs, and CPS has faced plenty of those in recent days. And more await if Democratic lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner don't break their summerlong stalemate and grant the district some form of financial relief.

Here's what efficiency means at the school level.

Blaine Principal Troy LaRaviere

In his latest blog post, Blaine Principal Troy LaRaviere takes us inside the July 13th principals budget meeting on the heels of the massive announced cuts in staffing and programs. The assembled school leaders were told that the problem arose because the district was forced to choose between "making pension payments and making needed investments in the classroom.”



LaRaviere responds:

CPS claiming their choice is between paying teachers salaries & benefits or improving classrooms is like the Chicago Bulls saying their 

Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: On the mess at CPS and Rahm's shake up on Clark St.: