A Weird Immunity To Facts

Here was an interesting moment on last night's Chicago Tonight. Wendy Katten from Raise Your Hand is trying to make a basic point about the increase in funding to charters accompanying a decrease in funding to traditional neighborhood schools.  Board Member Andrea Zopp, who is running Chicago Urban League--- which is evidently connected to the National Urban League and yet strangely different in terms of ed policy--- seems immune to basic reality.

Here's the CTBA summary, which you can pick through yourself, line by line. 

CPS has claimed that it has kept a number of cuts away from the classroom. However, the data show the contrary is true.CPS has in fact been making fairly drastic cuts to a number of basic educational programs like math, reading, and social sciences. These cuts will likely have an adverse effect on students. Meanwhile, despite large reductions in education spending, the District is increasing its payments to charter schools. Unlike neighborhood schools, charters will not have to suffer the same educational cuts that the rest of the District faces.

So, there's that.

I hate to go all Rachel Maddow here, but here we go: it's empirical. We can find out the truth! By looking at the budget!

Whoever that nice young man hosting the show was, he owes us a report. When two people are arguing over matters of basic fact, and you shut them down because it's awkward, you need to follow up with a report on what the budget says.

As for me, I love when people contradict what's in the budget, because it opens up the opportunity to question them about what the various things in the budget actually mean, and then it turns out that the person actually can't or won't read a budget and only knows what he's been told. If you've ever bargained a contract, you've probably sat across from someone in Andrea Zopp's position, someone who has to say all these things that are contradicted by reality but are in the talking points.

We need an elected board. Earlier in the show, Ms. Zopp talked about how accountable she is. And about how BBB is accountable--- why, just the other day, BBB answered some question in the press.

I hate to say it, but... oh heck, I already said it: