LOGAN SQUARE — Voters in eight precincts will get a chance to vote on whether they believe Ames Middle School should become a military academy or remain a neighborhood school.
Parents and neighborhood activists collected enough signatures to hold an advisory referendum in voting precincts that surround Ames, long the center of controversy over plans to convert it into a military academy.
The Board of Education voted in December to approve the conversion of Ames, 1920 N. Hamlin Ave., to Marine Leadership Academy, a year after President David Vitale said there were no plans for such a conversion, a reversal that left the surrounding community feeling betrayed.
Parents have also taken to the streets in recent weeks to rally support for the advisory question, which asks whether voters support the conversion of Ames to Marine Leadership Academy.
Though the results of the nonbinding referendum would be largely symbolic, those who want Ames to remain a neighborhood school see it as one more way to show CPS, the Board of Education and politicians that the majority of nearby residents truly do not want to see the school become a military academy.
