GARFIELD RIDGE — Over the past month, there have been rumblings that Chicago Public Schools plans to expand Byrne Elementary and build a new school to replace Dore Elementary.
Though CPS has been meeting with parents and school leadership to talk about capacity issues at both Dore and Byrne, district officials said plans on how to address the overcrowding “have not yet been finalized.”
“CPS regularly hosts parent meetings to identify ways to effectively address capacity issues at the city’s most overcrowded schools,” CPS Spokesman Michael Passman said in a statement. “Parent meetings mark the first step in a long and thoughtful process as we work to address capacity issues and determine a path forward for the school community.”
During invitation-only meetings at the schools in May, Mayor Rahm Emanuel agreed to build a 16-classroom annex at Byrne and a new school to replace Dore, according to the Sun-Times.
Dore has been overcrowded for several years, operating at 172 percent capacity. The school at 6108 S. Natoma Ave. is in the top five most overcrowded schools citywide: 715 students study in a building meant for 420 students.
At Byrne, 5329 S. Oak Park, you’ll find eight modular classrooms on campus. The school’s current enrollment is 648 students, but Byrne’s ideal capacity is 480 students. Because of overcrowding issues, Byrne does not offer pre-K programming.
The story is a common one all over the city.
Many Chicago Public Schools either have too many — or too few — students enrolled on their campuses, according to data released by CPS in January.
Fewer than a dozen area schools are listed as “efficient."
The district says more than 300 schools across the city have fewer students than they should and about 25 are overcrowded.
Since citing a “daunting utilization crisis” in 2013, CPS has closed or consolidated dozens of schools — but opponents of the closings said the formula used to review schools is flawed.
The news of expansions at Byrne and Dore angered and frustrated parents and officials at several Northwest Side schools, where, in some cases, overcrowding issues are worse.
"We have been working so long and so hard," Amy Dolhay, Local School Council chairwoman of the Ebinger Elementary School, told DNAinfo. At Ebinger, 776 students study in a building meant for 510 students. "We feel deflated. We have been patiently waiting our turn. What else can we do?"
CPS officials say the process behind addressing overcrowding on the South Side is the same one they use on the North Side.
“In what is likely to be a long process and series of meetings, CPS has begun meeting with parents and school leadership to identify ways to best address the capacity issues facing Dore and Byrne Schools,” Passman said.
Those meetings “are consistent with the process followed at other schools facing overcrowding issues,” including Jamieson, Canty, Edwards, Wildwood, Oriole Park, Ebinger and others.
CPS would not comment on how much the expansions at Byrne and Dore would cost.
Jennie Biggs, a board member of education-advocacy group Raise Your Hand, said the key to solving overcrowding issues at Chicago Schools is transparency.
The bottom line is that CPS really needs a transparent and comprehensive facilities plan,” Biggs said. “They need to be transparent and work with communities around the city.”
Officials at Dore Elementary and Byrne did not respond to requests to be interviewed for this story.
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