Roughly 381,000 kids were sent home this week from Chicago Public Schools with a partisan letter blasting President Trump and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Chicago’s WGN reported Tuesday that officials with CPS angered parents by handing out letters that excoriate Republicans — and Republicans only — for budget problems. A letter distributed on Monday begins by saying that Mr. Trump and Gov. Rauner “attack those who need the most help” as a segue into the state’s financial woes.
“CPS cannot run the school system that your children deserve with the funds we have,” the letter says. “Under the law, CPS has used all of its taxing power to bring in the most dollars we can. CPS has also borrowed billions of dollars to keep the schools open while the Governor and his political friends continue to cheat your children of their fair share of the state’s education dollars.”
“This is so inappropriate,” a parent who contacted the station said. “How can [CPS CEO Forrest Claypool] send political propaganda home?”
The letter to families claims that the governor “broke his word by blocking Chicago from receiving $215 million for our schools.”
“While the Governor and his friends fight about how to solve the problem, they know that every day they cheat your children of their fair share, they can score political points with their supporters. Just like President Trump,” the letter continues.
Gov. Rauner’s office released a statement on Tuesday responding to CPS’s taxpayer-funded letter.
“Rather than cutting services and creating a crisis to help justify a campaign to raise taxes in Springfield, it would be helpful to everyone if CPS would work with all parties to enact a balanced budget package that includes comprehensive pension reform and a new and equitable school funding formula,” Illinois Secretary of Education Beth Purvis wrote, WGN reported.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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