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| http://www.cpsboe.org/ |
Thursday on the Capitol Fax, there was a discussion on whether or not an elected school board for CPS would result in a heavy influence by the Chicago Teacher's Union. The CapFax links to the Chicago Reader
And an elected school board isn't exactly a fringe idea. According to education advocacy group Illinois Raise Your Hand, 94 percent of school boards around the country are elected, and Chicago's is the only one in Illinois appointed by law. Several nonbinding referenda over the last few years have shown again and again that Chicagoans want to elect their boards. So what's the argument for having the board appointed by the mayor?With this being said my position has been in favor of a hybrid board both appointed and elected. This is provided that it's considered constitutional if you will. What are your thoughts?
Supporters of an appointed board say it removes politics from the board's composition. If you ignore for a second that Chicago has run on patronage since its inception, this still makes very little sense. An elected school board would represent the diverse viewpoints of members' constituencies the same way any legislative body does. But an appointed board only represents one point of view: the mayor's. What the politics-free argument truly is after is a board that will oppose the Chicago Teachers Union.
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