Schools

Judge Rules Against Last Hope for Trumbull Elementary

An injunction seeking to stop the closure of the elementary school failed to pass through a federal judge.

A federal judge cited CPS budget struggles for ruling against an injection that would stop the closure of Trumbull Elementary School.

Ruling in favor of the complaint would cause CPS to “reshuffle the deck,” requiring money set aside for another use, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Two parents filed the complaint after the Andersonville elementary school was one of 49 on a list for closure in the fall.

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Federal Judge Gary Feinerman said the damage done by closing the school would be far less than the damage done to CPS if forced to keep the building open.

Parents and teachers fought CPS officials’ assertion the school was underutilized. With nearly 30 percent of its students in special education programs, class sizes had to be smaller than the average school.

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That claim could have weight in court, the Sun-Times reports. The parents and neighborhood organization could see a trial based on the special education students’ necessity to switch schools. 

“We have a chance of success on the discrimination claim,” plaintiff attorney Charles Petrof told the Sun-Times. “But it’s not enough to sway the judge to stop the closing.”

The news comes less than two weeks before the first day of school, Aug. 26. Those students will attend either McPherson or Chappell elementary schools in Lincoln Square, or McCutcheon in Uptown.

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