Press Statement Regarding School Closures March 22, 2013

My name is Valerie Leonard, the Co-Founder of the Lawndale Alliance. We are a group of residents who have come together to address issues of concern to the community, including education, TIF reform and mortgage foreclosure. We are very concerned about the prospect of CPS closing 52 schools, representing nearly $600 million disinvestment in Black and Brown communities in Chicago. Approximately 89% of the impacted students are Black. The big winner in all of this will be AUSL, who will gain control of 6 schools at our expense. Drilling closer to home, the North Lawndale community will be more adversely impacted than any community in Chicago. We will lose 5 of our 24 schools--Henson will merge into Hughes; Paderewski will close; Bethune will merge into Gregory; Pope will merge into Johnson; Mason High School will close; Chalmers will be a turnaround school. This represents a loss of 20% of our schools, for a total capital disinvestment of $86.1 million to our local economy, and a disinvestment of up to $20 million per year in school operating funds in our community. As it stands, the North Lawndale community is one of the most impoverished communities in the city, with a median income of $18,000 and unemployment rate of 17%--before the recession of 2007. Closing 5 school buildings and leaving them empty would cause a host of problems, including exacerbated blight conditions; reduced property values; increased student mobility rates; increased dropout rates; increased vandalism and violence and interrupted student learning. The most upwardly mobile residents may decide to leave residents to leave, while real estate developers will continue to take a pass on new development. Indeed, this single action could set us back over 10 years. Ten years represents an entire generation of elementary school students. We ask you, "Would you do this to your children?" We have worked with a coalition of elected officials and community based organizations to provide an alternative plan that will provide additional resources to children while utilizing excess space in underutilized buildings. CPS could gain

additional revenues from rental income to offset expenses, while keeping our school buildings from adding more blight. We are looking to partner with City, Chicago Public Schools, Chicago Public Libraries, City Colleges, the Chicago Park District, Chicago Police Department, elected officials, community based organizations, local residents, parents and students. Respectfully submitted,

Valerie F. Leonard
Valerie F. Leonard Co-Founder Lawndale Alliance