By John Ruberry
When I was in sixth grade at Palos East Elementary School near Chicago, for two semesters the school principal withheld my report card–pretty good ones by the way–because the shrewish school librarian said I failed to return a book. I told her that I did, but that wasn’t good enough for her.
Eventually, the missing book turned up. It was a school library employee, possibly “the Shrew” herself, who misplaced that book.
Which brings me to a story out of Chicago that is not getting nearly enough coverage The disappearance from mid-2022 to mid-2023 of electronic devices–laptops, iPads, and more–over 77,000 devices, according to a report from the Chicago Public Schools’ Office of the Inspector General.
Sure, the local media reported on the OIG report for a couple of days. But they of course lean left, and the sympathetic media has moved on to other stories, such as criticizing Texas governor Greg Abbott for sending buses with illegal migrants to the Chicago area. Of course, our “betters” in the media rarely condemn the politician who is at fault for the migrant crisis–Joe Biden.
Back to CPS: The OIG says there have been no repercussions for the students who failed to return them. Their parents weren’t sent a bill–and yes, the kids certainly received their report cards. The value of those lost and stolen devices is massive, over $23 million. In 2021-2022, CPS spend $123 million on technology devices. “You can’t pin this on COVID,” CPS Inspector General Will Fletcher told CBS Chicago. “You can pin this on students who are just taking devices and not returning them.”
CPS, with COVID-related funding drying up next year, faces a huge deficit. But when reading the OIG report, one can conclude Chicago Public Schools has too much money. It’s time for CPS to go on a diet, or be put into some kind receivership, possibly under federal control–but only with a Republican in the White House.
Too much money? Yeppo. If $23 million in equipment goes “missing” and it only becomes public knowledge because of an OIG report, then there is not a lack of money issue for Chicago schools.
Let’s not place all of the blame on the students for the thievery. The report also notes that at three dozen CPS schools, every tech device was marked lost or stolen. All of them. An inside job? That’s likely, in my opinion.
Here’s some more waste: Could these devices have been tracked. Yes. OIG Fletcher also told CBS Chicago, “The district spends about two and a half million dollars on software that’s meant to track and locate devices, but the district just wasn’t using that software.”
The Office of the Inspector General previously discovered over a dozen CPS employees, some in leadership roles and collecting six-figure annual sinecure salaries, allegedly fraudulently obtained PPP loans. And one elementary school assistant principal has allegedly stole over $270,000 from her school.
Even worse than theft and incompetence is sexual assault. During the same time period covering the thefts, the OIG discovered eight substantiated adult-against-child incidents of sexual abuse.
Last year Chicagoans made the horrible mistake of electing leftist Brandon Johnson mayor. He’s a former CPS teacher and Chicago Teachers Union instructor. Johnson apparently is too busy criticizing Greg Abbott–a Google News search retrieved no comments from Johnson, the CTU pick for mayor, about the OIG report.
Chicagoans voted for more failure.
Are the students learning anything at CPS schools? Not really, over three-quarters of them test below grade level.
Now back to report cards: Here is my grade for Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Teachers Union, and Brandon Johnson.
It’s an F minus.
And I will happily hand out those report cards.
John Ruberry, who attended a CPS school as a kindergartener, regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.
Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog 