Emanuel defends property tax increase for Chicago Public Schools

John Byrne

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today said a property tax hike for Chicago Public Schools is acceptable because district administrators have made large cuts to the school budget and investment is necessary to improve important programs like early childhood education.

In his first comments since the proposed schools tax increase was announced last week, the mayor said school officials have done more to make the schools more efficient.

"I have no tolerance for an overblown bureaucracy, and I have no tolerance for inefficiency in the city budget, in other agencies, and I'm glad (school officials) followed the cut and invest strategy," Emanuel said. "I think they've made the tough choices."

"I also expect people to respect the hard-earned dollars of taxpayers," he added. "But they also rely on the school system. As you know, I said I was going to protect the classroom. We've not only protected the classroom, we've expanded educational choices and opportunities for the parents that rely on the school system, while other school systems are cutting back."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at August 10, 2011 1:23 AM
Subscribe to this site via RSS/Atom: Newsletter signup | Send us your ideas