Chicago does not need another selective enrollment high school (SEHS), like the project planned for the Near Northside (formerly known as “Obama Prep”), within a few miles of two other selective enrollment schools.

Chicago Public Schools needs a real master plan for facilities and education policies that will provide true equity: the guarantee of a high-quality, well-resourced education at a publicly-operated school in every neighborhood of the city.  

The city’s schools, particularly at the high school level, resemble a caste system where resources are distributed unequally and are dependent on a child’s test scores, furthering the stratification in our city.

Children should not have to compete in an intellectual Hunger-Games system to attend a well-resourced high school. Parents want, and children deserve guaranteed access to a quality public high school not based on lotteries and selective criteria.

Less than 2%---only 210---students, applying to SEHSs will be helped by this use of $60 million dollars. Think of how many teachers and programs $30M will save and students’ lives will be positively impacted by the return of these TIF funds to CPS.

Cancelling the Obama Prep project would free up $60 million in TIF funds, and $30M of that could then be directed back to the taxing body it was withheld from, the Chicago Public Schools. It would also free up another $500k that CPS is currently paying a consultant to search for a location for this unnecessary project.

We must stop perpetuating educational inequity, especially during these broke times, and say no to any new selective enrollment high school and yes to fully-funded existing schools for all.