Chicago News Cooperative» Letters

Response to “In Race for U.S. School Grant Is a Fear of Winning”

jpvelez — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:11:06 +0000

Re: “In Race for U.S. School Grants Is a Fear of Winning,” (Chicago section, Jan. 16), the concern was raised that federal stimulus dollars awarded in the U.S. Department of Education’s “Race to the Top” competition would only last three years, which would cause a funding cliff for districts that sign on to aggressive reforms on behalf of our state’s school children.

Given the serious situation facing Illinois school districts, we understand the tenor and tone of your article. That said, a critical point of view was missing – namely, the notion that the state might learn something about its policies over the three-year period, as if every other aspect of the education system would remain constant while these reforms were implemented in a vacuum. What’s more likely is that the reforms, if successful, would lead educators, administrators and political leaders to rethink how other funds are being spent and, if those are not having comparable impact on student achievement, they could be redirected to support the new initiatives. This process is – or should be — common in education. What sets the “Race to the Top” fund apart is a sound push for districts to use data and research on student performance to drive decisions around instruction and spending.

Of course, another way to address this issue is for the state to find ways to create efficiencies within the education system while still maintaining its proper focus on growing student achievement. Data is just one way to do that; there are others. As we have said before, $400 million every year—more than $200 per student—goes to reward teachers across Illinois for completing graduate coursework and degrees, the vast majority of which are unrelated to teachers’ assignments or school needs. This large investment occurs despite the fact that, with limited exceptions, there is no evidence that advanced degrees increase teacher effectiveness in the classroom.

Illinois’ work to pass, in the words one national expert, “groundbreaking” legislation to reform teacher evaluation shows that state leadership is prepared to think in new ways around education. Let’s hope that the federal stimulus gives us a chance to prove that again in the years to come.

Sincerely,
Robin Steans
Executive Director
Advance Illinois

Response to “Hoping Prominent Support Will Translate to Victories”

DON ROSE — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:34:01 +0000

Ben Goldberger’s Sunday “Pulse” piece on reformers making endorsements erroneously states that neither Paul Vallas nor Forrest Claypool “ever beat” the “entrenched powers.”

Claypool first won his district seat as a Cook County commissioner by challenging and defeating the incumbent, well-entrenched machine politician Ted Lechowicz.

Response to “Company Piles Up Profits From City’s Parking Meter Deal”

GENE SAFFOLD — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:38:34 +0000

NOTE: This letter is a response to Dan Mihalopoulos’ November 20th story about the private owners of Chicago’s parking meters

Dear Mr. O’Shea:

Earlier this year, Chicago Parking Meters, LLC (CPM) paid the City of Chicago $1.156 billion for the right to operate and collect parking meters for the next 75 years – an amount produced after a robust and competitive bidding process, and it was on the high range of values expected by the city.

Reporter Dan Mihalopoulos of the Chicago News Cooperative obtained an early draft of a CPM’s 2010 pro forma budget and used it to seek theoretical valuations and claim CPM is making a large profit (“Company Piles Up Profits from City’s Parking Meter Deal,” New York Times, November 20, 2009). His assertion is off base and wholly inaccurate.

Mihalopoulos reached his conclusion based on very flawed methodology. First, the draft pro forma budget does not account for all costs, particularly non-recurring costs or future capital costs, and overestimates revenue. As such the numbers in the draft pro forma budget are likely inflated. Additionally, the pro forma budget does not include any of the investors’ own costs (administration, funding, oversight) that also affects its bottom line. But even ignoring these omissions, if one uses the numbers in the draft pro forma budget, a $58 million net revenue figure in 2010 would represent a cash-on-cash return of approximately 5% – not exactly “piled up profits.”

Moreover, future parking meter revenues are subject to very real risks associated with operating and maintaining a parking meter system of Chicago’s size over 75 years. Those risks include potential increases in costs for labor, fuel and equipment; and potential decreases in revenue due to expanded use of public transportation and changes in driver behavior. How those risks affect future utilization of the system will have the greatest impact on what rate of return the investor eventually earns.

Mihalopoulos writes that “there is little doubt [CPM] will recover their investment in a relatively short period of time,” when no such conclusion can be drawn from the information he uses. In fact, the numbers seem to support just the opposite case.

Finally, Mihalopoulos fails to mention how the transaction benefited Chicago residents in important ways. CPM has replaced 32,000 older, single-space, coin-only meters with the far more convenient and environmentally friendly pay boxes. Broken meters have been reduced, and those that are broken are being fixed faster than ever.

Additionally, and most importantly, the concession proceeds have been used by the City to build reserves, support people in need, and help balance Chicago’s operating budgets during the worst economic recession in over 70 years.

At a time when other cities and states are struggling to balance their budgets – raising taxes and cutting services – Mayor Richard M. Daley has worked to ensure that Chicago taxpayers are protected with transactions like this one.

Sincerely,

Gene Saffold
Chief Financial Officer
City of Chicago