Only the government could create a school system that comes with private tuition costs and one of the verifiably worst educations. Actually, allow me to rephrase that: Only a “progressive” leftist government could accomplish such a feat.

According to a new report at Fox News, Chicago Public Schools are facing an enrollment crisis, one so significant that around 150 of the schools are “half-empty.” Furthermore, 47 of the district’s schools are functioning “at less than one-third capacity,” driving up costs and eliminating course diversity. (For reference, there are around 630 in the district, which means that roughly, 30% of CPS schools are severely underattended.)

And, what does that mean in terms of cost? Grab a barf bag, because this is your money we’re talking about:

While the city faces enrollment struggles, the city spends about $18,700 per student. Some schools are ‘double or triple’ that number the report stated. One school that enrolled 28 students costs $93,000 students.

DuSable High School, which had declining enrollment, costs almost $50,000 per student, according to the report. DuSable is among 47 schools operating at less than one-third capacity. 

Frederick Douglass Academy High School, which has 28 students this year, reportedly costs $93,000 per student.

For more context: Chicago’s average expense per student is higher than the national average (which is roughly $17k), and on the high end? Well, it’s about $60,000 more than the next closest competitor, which happens to be a New York public school district in an uppity area of Long Island that spends around $32k per student each year.

Now, the report stated that many of the schools are in historic buildings which are in dire need of repair—but when teachers were negotiating a new contract last year? They demanded the $50 billion contract focus on “climate action” like electric school buses, curriculum for “green” energy, and buildings outfitted with solar panels—in a city with around 180 cloudy days per year. The new contract went into effect in July of 2024, and while I’m not sure how many “climate” provisions are included, we do know that teachers got a hefty raise—the average teacher salary increased 32%, from $86,439 to $114,429. These teachers are living like kings, and they don’t even have to perform! Need I remind you that a significant portion of adults “educated” in Cook County are functionally illiterate? That number is 25% by the way, or one out of every four.

How many cities and systems have to fail before we can point the finger at the leftist policies behind the collapse? San Francisco? Chicago? Baltimore? Detroit?

Image: Free image, Pixabay license.