As Mayor Rahm Emanuel inches toward announcing which of Chicago’s public schools he wants to close, it’s as good a time as ever to examine the details of his last big education decision.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to examine the details of how and why Mayor Emanuel rammed home the longer day because the internal reports, studies, memos, and analyses governing the decision no longer exist. Or maybe they never did.
Out of curiosity he wanted to see them.
On March 16, Krell received a response from CPS’s FOIA officer informing him that “the district does not maintain any documents responsive to your request.”
On March 29, Krell wrote a letter to the office of Attorney General Lisa Madigan, saying he finds it “difficult to believe” that CPS does not have the documents he requested. He noted that schools officials could provide no evidence to “prove” Brizard’s math, “which is what we teach all kids to do.”
Gallagher also requested that CPS confirm whether it had any of the records Krell requested. Even better, “If no such responsive records exist, please explain why CPS does not maintain these records.”
