To the editor:
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The dispute over the South Loop School described in Neighborhood News, “Sign of Trouble” (May 7), does indeed go much deeper than a simple fight over a sign. To find the true epicenter, you need look no further than the local school council. As a new resident of Dearborn Park, I decided to attend an LSC meeting to see where my tax dollars were going. I almost did not make it to the meeting–all of the doors to the school were locked. I banged on enough until someone finally let me in. What followed at the actual meeting almost defies description. I can only say that it was the most pathetic, farcical display of “democracy” that I have ever witnessed. It would almost be humorous if not for the children’s lives and substantial dollars that were at stake.
Ms. Woodard states in the article that a “small but vocal minority” of nearby residents “have their own agenda.” Thank God for the vocal ones because the rest of the families in the South Loop just silently vote with their feet and send their children to magnet or private schools. I have been unfairly called a racist because I questioned the status quo. However, one big reason that I chose to live in the South Loop was because I wanted my children to grow up in an integrated neighborhood and attend an integrated, excellent school. Neither I, nor my black, Asian, or Hispanic neighbors could possibly send our children to a school that is a complete failure in all statistical categories.
