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Board continues to target Las Casas... Ruthless privatization is now the main agenda in Chicago's public schools for severely disabled students

Kristine Mayle - January 30, 2010

On January 26, 2009, when William Morgan of the CPS Law Department read the supposed justification for the slated closure of Las Casas, the only remaining therapeutic high school operated by CPS, the stated reasons were very different from the reasons presented in 2010.

For the second year in a row, the Chicago Board of Education is trying to close Las Casas Occupational High School (above) in order to privatize special education services to high school age youth with criminal records and emotional problems. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.Last year, CPS claimed that Las Casas needed to close because the rental costs of the building were too high and the building needed a total of $1 million of renovations. They also claimed that there was “no demographic need” for the school.

Morgan was not the only CPS official to testify against Las Casas in January 2009.

"We should not make any additional expenditure of funds for a facility that is not needed in our inventory. The lease of this building, therefore, should be terminated.," said Stephen Wilkens, who at the time was "Chief Property Officer" for Chicago's public schools, "In five years, the potential savings to the district would be well over $1 million." Wilkens testified at the CPS hearing on January 26, 2009. After two hearings, Hearing Officer Fred Bates apparently recommended that Las Casas not be closed. On February 25, 2009, the Chicago Board of Education voted not to close six of the 22 schools that were on the 2009 Hit List. Las Casas was one of the schools that was spared.

The 2009 reasons did not prove to be strong enough to defeat the testimony of parents, students, teachers and community members last year; Las Casas was one of six schools removed from last year’s closing list.

This year, CPS put more effort into justifying the destruction of this small school that provides a very specific, yet much needed service to some of Chicago’s most troubled youth. On Friday, January 29, 2010, Las Casas was back in a hearing, once again threatened with closing.

In addition to Miguel Rodriguez who represented the Board’s Law Department this year, CPS also dragged four high-level managers out make their case. One after another they gave various reasons why the school should be closed, without acknowledging the real reason for Las Casas’ and more than 70 other closures over the course of the so-called “renaissance” that has plagued our neighborhood public schools in recent years.

Robert Runcie, Chief Administrative Officer for CPS claimed that the facility of Las Casas was not conducive to the needs of the students it serves citing safety and privacy concerns of students. Dr. Richard G. Smith, CAO of Area 27 cited a study completed by an expert from New York who claimed that the facility was too large and the design of the building did not suit the needs of students with behavior problems.

Deborah Duskey, Chief Specialized Services Officer cited the positive attributes of the proposed schools students will be placed in when Las Casas closes. These schools are all privately owned and operated and CPS already pays each provider “per seat” to service students with behavior and emotional disabilities.

Deputy Director of Safety and Security, Stephen Glombicki concluded the Board’s testimony citing safety concerns related to the size and layout of the facility.

During the public participation portion of the hearing, four speakers representing two of the five proposed privately run schools spoke briefly about the programs they offered. The remaining testimony came from community members, CPS teachers from schools other than Las Casas, and one CTU official. The principal of Las Casas, Akatarina Panagakis, was present at the hearing, but did not speak.

The most revealing testimony of the night came from Father Freddy Washington, who also testified on behalf of Las Casas last year. Washington, whose church St. Mary Magdalene, currently houses Las Casas, testified that the Board of Education had spent $1.2 million on upgrades to the facility since last year’s closing hearing. In the past year, Washington said, the building received a new roof, tuck pointing, electrical upgrades, and new windows. He also debunked the Board’s claim that former Archdiocese-owned building was not fit for students with Emotional Disorders by pointing out that one of the five proposed school alternatives for Las Casas’ students was itself housed in a similar building that had previously been owned by the Archdiocese. Las Casas has been in the facility for more than ten years, and this was apparently the first time that CPS noticed the facility was wrong for these special education students.

On a fitting note, the hearing closed with the testimony of the director of one of the proposed alternative schools. She admitted that the closure of Las Casas “will significantly impact the students and staff,” but wanted to invite the students to attend her school. 

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