Oh joy! First day of school

Well, today, Monday is the first day of school and Mayor Emanuel has totally prepared for safe passage routes to be safe by diverting most, if not all, City personnel to cover the 51 Welcoming Schools safe passage routes. 

Wikimedia/Public Domain

After years of waiting many of the vacant problem buildings have been torn down or secured, tree trimmed, lots cleaned, lights replace, new sidewalks have been laid, 1,600 new signs have been made up and hung to mark the routes and 600 "watchers" have been hired, trained and equipped with cell phones and fluorescent green vest at $10 an hour to walk the still gang infested safe passage routes.  

Over $16 millions, an increase of $8 million, is being spent just to get kids to and from school, that does not include the additional taxpayers money that will be spent from diverting police, firefighters and equipment, street and sands, park district, sewer, water, and everybody else to these routes this year for a period of one or two weeks.

   

Although all this money has not stopped shootings from happening within safe passage routes and has not stopped the planned protest next Wednesday by parents and community activists, who are asking these kids, many who are already failing, to stay out of school so they to can participate.   

No one can say that the schools are better now than they were at the end of last year. Budgets have been cut, programs have been cut, teachers and staff has been cut, overcrowded schools are still overcrowded and the Chicago Public School system still has a deficit that is continuing to grow.