Candidates Needed for Local School Councils

Local School Councils (LSCs) are the closest thing to democracy in education Chicagoans can get without the benefit of an elected school board, advocates say ahead of this year’s biennial elections.

Candidates are needed for over 4,000 LSC seats in Chicago Public Schools. The filing deadline is March 5 in the school of choice. Elections will be April 22 in elementary schools and April 23 in high schools.

LSCs were a school reform movement idea of Mayor Harold Washington, who called for local governance in public schools, according to the Facebook page of the LSCs4All Coalition. “Over the years, LSCs have been the fall guys for what’s wrong with public education. When in reality they can be the answers for ALL schools to be great. Start with policies that give all parents – no matter what type of school they attend – the power to help create great change in our schools.”

Created by the School Reform Act of 1988, LSCs have three responsibilities: to approve how school funds are allocated, to develop and monitor a School Improvement Plan, and to select and evaluate the school principal.

Traditional LSCs are comprised of the principal, six parent representatives, two community representatives, two teacher representatives, one representative of the non-teacher staff; and at the high school level, one student representative. All parents, community members and school staff members who want to strengthen their local schools are eligible to run. No experience or formal education is required of LSC members.

Candidates must file an annual statement of economic interests, complete a criminal disclosure form, undergo fingerprint-based criminal conviction investigation (and complete a criminal conviction disclosure form) and complete required training within six months of taking office.

The LSCs4All Coalition includes the Lugenia Burns Hope Center, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), Pilsen Alliance, Chicago United for Equity (CUE), Blocks Together, Northside Action for Justice, Chicago Teachers Union and Raise Your Hand for Illinois Public Education (RYH).

Two years ago, City Bureau cited CPS numbers that showed only 221 of the 512 schools eligible for LSCs had enough members for a full council.

-Suzanne Hanney, from online sources www.streetwise.org 13