ANDERSONVILLE — Teachers and Local School Council members at Lyman Trumbull Elementary School told DNAinfo Chicago Thursday morning that their school is on a list of schools recommended for closure by Chicago Public Schools.
Trumbull LSC member Ali Burke, also a parent with children at the school, confirmed the news, citing conversations with school officials she said have been barred from speaking to the media.
Burke said that the school will be closed “outright,” not consolidated, and that its special education population will be split between McPherson, McCutcheon and Chappell elementary schools.
Two school employees who asked to remain anonymous confirmed the news.
“I am shocked. I am completely disgusted. I can’t believe we're still on the list,” Burke said. “We have 37 percent special education students at our school, and they’ve even added kids in the last week — they sent us three more special education students.”
She argued that the space utilization formula CPS has been using to determine if schools are eligible for closure erroneously placed Trumbull on the list without accounting for their special education program, which demands smaller class sizes than the 30-student average used in CPS calculations.
Burke noted that the school’s inclusion is only “a recommendation,” and that more hearings will be held in the next two months.
“We’re going to continue to fight it for 60 days,” Burke said.
