Chicago Students Boycott First Day of School

Sept. 2, 2008 — -- Some Chicago students skipped the first day of school, but not to enjoy one more day of freedom. Instead, they hoped on buses provided by local churches to protest how Chicago Public Schools are funded.

A group of Chicago church pastors organized bus trips to two suburban schools this afternoon to call attention to what they call the "disparities" of school funding.

According to the New Trier school district, 150 high school students and 800 elementary students attempted to register at New Trier Township High School and Sunset Ridge Elementary School under the guidance of Illinois State Sen. James Meeks and a group of 85 pastors. The registration was meant to draw attention to the issue.

"Illinois is trying to attract the [2016] Olympics by saying we are a world class city. How can we have a world class city and not have world class schools?" Meeks told ABCNews.com from the protest. "We want the city to pay attention to our schools. We want the state to pay attention to our schools."

Rev. Ira Acree of Greater St. John Church in Chicago, who helped organize the boycott, echoed that sentiment.

"We're bringing these children to Winnetka today because we have exhausted other methods," Acree said. "We want the governor and the senate and legislators all across the state to hear our plea. We want them to see the innocent children from Chicago who are victims of apartheid-style education. We want them to see the inequalities and disparities in our system."

According to Acree and Meeks, Chicago Public Schools are grossly underfunded compared with schools in wealthier districts, such as Winnetka, that have fewer minority students. In Illinois, students must pay tuition to attend schools outside their home district.

Chicago Public Schools, one of the country's largest school systems, spent $11,300 per student last year. New Trier High School spent $17,500 per student. Like many districts across the country, public school funding in Illinois is tied to property taxes and land values. The more the property around a school is worth, the more funding it'd likely to get.

"We're hoping to send a message today that a two-tiered school system is wrong. It is wrong for one of the wealthiest states in our nation to have the dubious distinction of leading American in school funding disparity," Acree said.