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| Bruce Leon |
The Jewish community’s educational concerns have never been addressed by the Chicago School Board (CSB). Nor have our representatives in City Hall or at the state level addressed those concerns other than to dismiss them.
Their argument has always been that public education is their only concern. Which is available to every child in Chicago. Those who wish to educate their children in private or religious school can freely do so at their own expense.
The problem with that is obvious to any parochial school parent. Which is that the cost of a decent parochial school education is much higher than what the vast majority of parents can afford to pay. School budget deficits have been steadily increasing. Outpacing tuition increases that most parents can barely afford to pay now if at all! This is one of the biggest problems facing the Orthodox Jewish community. A growing problem.
School choice would help solve that problem. As it has in many of ‘red states’ like Indiana that have implemented such programs
Public education should not be a one size fits all policy. The idea that values taught in the public schools are universal and should apply to everyone is clearly not true. Judaism, for example, has its own set of values. While there may be much overlap, there are some values that are in diametric opposition to each other. If a government has a policy that mandates free education for all children, parents should have to right to choose what kind of education their child will get - as long as it includes a core curriculum and does not teach violation of any law.
That is what school choice is about. A truly equitable public education system would recognize that simple reality. Instead of forcing a child to attend a school whose values do not match the values taught in the home, a parent would have the right to send their child to a school that teaches their values.
This brings me to Bruce Leon one of several candidates runing for the Chicago School Board. Until this election all members of the CSB were appointed by the mayor. Now for the first time half of those members will be chosen by voters. Bruce happens to be an Orthodox Jew but is someone who cares deeply about the education of all children. No child should be left behind. Whether it is a child that lives in poor neighborhood who wants more than what his neighborhood school has to offer. Or a child of religious parents that want their values to be taught in addition to the core curriculum..
Bruce understands those concerns and he will fight for them if elected. He will fight Mayor Brandon Johnson a card carrying member of the CTU who cares more about fully funding teachers pensions than he does about the children they teach. Bruce will fight for children first. All children.
Those who might say that one lone voice on a school board that is not inclined to view public and parochial school education they way Bruce does will not accomplish anything - are wrong. Along with another Orthodox Jew, I was elected to the local school council of a public school here in Chicago many years ago. The law required community interests to be represented by 2 members that were not parents. Needless to say we were not very popular with the other council members. But our interests were represented and as a result both the parents and the community which we represented got what we needed.
I therefore urge everyone in the Chicago Jewish community that cares about education to vote for Bruce Leon for the Chicago School Board. He has been endorsed by the Chicago Tribune and will be our voice on the board - the voice of sanity.
Bruce will be listed on the ballot with all the other candidates. Whoever you vote for as president next Tuesday, make sure to look for Bruce Leon on the ballot and choose him as your representative on the Chicago School Board.