Your Taxes at Work: Sending CPS Teachers to Las Vegas
Despite the $700 million budget deficit Chicago Public Schools is facing, fourteen Chicago public school teachers went on an all-expense paid trip to a Las Vegas resort and spa for a conference last year.
Illinois taxpayers and business were hit hard last month. The state welcomed the new year by hiking personal income taxes 67 percent and corporate taxes by 46 percent. Governor Quinn has insisted that a solid portion of the additional tax revenue go to education, but, as a recent CBS story revealed, often times taxpayer funds do not serve their intended purpose and are instead directed to activities that in no way improve the education of our children.
CBS 2’s Dave Savini and the Better Government Association investigated the claims from a former-Scammon Elementary School teacher that 14 of her Chicago Public School co-workers went on an all-expense paid trip to a Las Vegas resort and spa for a conference last year.
Their investigation uncovered the following:
- $15,000 was spent on a Las Vegas conference in 2010 attended by member of the school’s faculty and administration.
- The schools principal went on the trip with her staff and allegedly missed Scammon’s report card pick up day.
- In an internal CPS investigation, findings uncovered hundreds of thousands of dollars were wastefully spent by Chicago School Board members, including tax dollars spent on $125 champagne, thousands on limousines, steak lunches, liquor, and over $6,000 on a Soldier Field skybox event.
In Chicago, the third largest school system, 51 percent of students graduate high school. Outside of Chicago, the high school graduation rate is 83.3 percent, higher than any other state. Chicago public schools are struggling.
How well is Scammon Elementary doing, you ask? Can these teachers afford to take a break from the kids they are employed to teach and mentor?
The short answer is no. Scammon Elementary School, located in the city’s Kilbourn Park neighborhood, is not making adequate yearly progress. The Illinois Interactive Report Card shows Scammon has been on academic watch for the past three years.
The city’s taxpayers and children cannot afford to have education funds going towards imprudent practices that do nothing to improve the education of our children.
Taxpayers and Chicago students deserve better.