Rev. Meeks and Al Sharpton OR Something stupid this way comes

Reverend James Meeks is a Chicago minister, State Senator, huckster and crusader.

His latest stunt calls for a boycott of Chicago schools'
first four days of classes. A time-frame that School Chief Arne Duncan says sets the tone for the year.

The plan is: Hold your kids out of Chicago high schools AND take them to Winnetka and register them at New Trier High School. It's an attempt to put school funding inequities in the spotlight. New Trier per pupil spending is $16,856. Chicago high schools $13,000. What Meek's spotlight doesn't want to highlight is that over 90% of New Trier's funding comes from LOCAL sources (read: property taxes) while Chicago's school revenue flows from MANY sources including the state income taxes of residents in New Trier's territory.

The boycott is stupid on a fundamental level. CPS to New Trier is an apples and Yugos comparison with money being the least relevant.


In other stupid school news. The Board President of Proviso Dist. 209 started a blog in 2006. ANONYMOUSLY. For over two years the Insider has taken shots at critics of the district, local politicians and anyone else it saw fit to attack. One of its targets was a law firm that was replaced as the district's legal representation. When they alleged "anonymously" that one of the firm's senior partners coached an indicted party on how to perjure himself. The firm sued the blog for defamation. In discovery it was found that the Board President was one of the blog's authors and its guiding force.

Oops! But that's not even the REALLY stupid part. Chris Welch aka Board President submitted his legal bills from the lawsuit to the district for payment by the taxpayers. HIS board approved the payment!

In this coming Monday's bills he has submitted an additional $24,000 in legal fees for approval.

The blog in question has apparently deleted its 2006-7 posts when the blog was
endorsing candidates -including Chris Welch- for office and ripping the opposition candidates. To now claim that even ANONYMOUSLY, Welch was acting as the District's Board President and is thus entitled to indemnity and the cost of his legal defense has to be in teh STUPID Hall of Fame.

Right next to us taxpayers and the voters who elected him THRICE!