Having read the Chicago Tribune`s editorial, ”Counting heads for school reform,” we are concerned about your serious misunderstanding of State Chapter 1. Your editorial calls for immediate clarification.
You stated the following: ”The law (1988 School Reform Act) diverted state ”Chapter 1” aid . . . from general use to local councils to create supplemental programs. . . . This was a well-meaning proposition.”
Your statements are incorrect and misleading. The law did not ”divert”
funds. Rather the law re-directed improperly used funds to their original purpose, as mandated by law. This was not a ”well-meaning proposition;” it was compliance with a legal requirement.
The Chicago Board of Education, with tacit complicity from the state, had for years illegally misused state Chapter 1 funds. Finally, it was the threat of court action, along with the spirit and momentum of school governance reform, that propelled the state into redressing this appalling and illegal misuse of dollars.
