Whats going at Oak Park River Forest High School? (Naperville: section 8, rental)

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by sukwoo

Except for the NIMBYs who don't want Evanston/Oak Park to ever change. Its almost pathological the reasons some of them use to oppose new building projects.

Change is frightening to some people. Opposing change gives them the illusion of control.

[ALICE' EVANS]

Yes and i am am austin student my self i live in the austin community im so mad and kinda sad that i might not be able to go to oak park river forest high school i hope i can get in one day i love theschool i hear it is great adn i i am a straighta student and i dont see y wouldn't they want some one as great, respectful and good like me it is kind of unfair i am sad i love theppl who go ther i neveer been there but i live so so close to oak park i live 1 block from there i understand how u guys are mad about u paying taxes but some ppl might not be as rich or be able to afford that im not poor but im not very very rich i will be some day but im a sophomore and i hope and pray that in my junior year that i be able to go to oprf high school if u know some one who go there or ur child go ther u are very lucky and they are too

Originally Posted by gardener34

the real outrage is how schools are funded by the property taxes... But that is a huge debate as we all know and another thread/topic.

"stated that they are using oak park addresses to attend the school." yes, this happens in berkeley too, w/ maywood kids try to attend berkeley/hillside schools. It is a problem everywhere because chicago schools are terrible.

[Careless]

Originally Posted by ParkerP

LOL! I'm saying, this has been happening for years. Even during my grammar and HS days and I graduated HS 10 years ago. I had friends that would have to leave the house at 6:30am to commute to Whitney Young HS and they are doing quite well now. I'm not in Oak Park but the way I see it, my property taxes goes towards schools when I don't even have any kids anyway so I'm not going to go nuts over a few folks sneaking in. Could the districts tighten it up? Sure. Will the parents find another loophole? You bet. Your friend may want to start renting if this makes her that upset. As mentioned before, its happening everywhere.

There are 3 things very wrong with this.
the way I see it, my property taxes goes towards schools when I don't even have any kids anyway so I'm not going to go nuts over a few folks sneaking in.

Ok, why don't you start paying more in social security taxes so I can collect benefits I'm not deserved?

Could the districts tighten it up? Sure. Will the parents find another loophole? You bet.

Could we require seatbelts on all cars? Sure. Will people still die in crashes? You bet. I wish more people took an economics class in their life.

Your friend may want to start renting if this makes her that upset.

Because people who rent don't pay property taxes?

That said, there's an excellent argument to be made for providing top quality schools for everyone. I get it.

Of course, we don't know how to manage that.

[Lookout Kid]

Originally Posted by ALICE' EVANS

Yes and i am am austin student my self i live in the austin community im so mad and kinda sad that i might not be able to go to oak park river forest high school i hope i can get in one day i love theschool i hear it is great

Then move to Oak Park or River Forest--otherwise the school is not something you're entitled to. If your parents cared about your education they wouldn't allow you to stay in that awful Austin CPS school.

I can tell you from your post that you will have a VERY hard time at OPRF with your grammar and punctuation skills. You will go from earning A's to earning F's instantaneously. They actually expect you to be able to read and write at a collegiate level at that school.

[Anthera]

Originally Posted by Lookout Kid

Then move to Oak Park or River Forest--otherwise the school is not something you're entitled to. If your parents cared about your education they wouldn't allow you to stay in that awful Austin CPS school.

I can tell you from your post that you will have a VERY hard time at OPRF with your grammar and punctuation skills. You will go from earning A's to earning F's instantaneously. They actually expect you to be able to read and write at a collegiate level at that school.

Harsh, but accurate.

[CarolL]

I apologize for not having read this entire thread, but just wanted to say that both of my kids graduated from OPRFHS. In those days—my youngest graduated in '02—we had to prove each and every year that we lived in either OP or RF. (Same way in the OP elem schools. Even if they knew you personally, you had to cough up property tax bills or something to definitely prove you lived in their district.)

During those days, the school district actually employed people to do nothing but check addresses, including doing home inspections of the address you say you lived at. Our principals and deans used to tell me that they had to inspect the child's room, his closet, count the clothes and shoes and toys they had there...everything to make sure they actually lived there and didn't just pretend to be living with an aunt or a grandma or whatever. Not sure if this is still done, but they were adamant about this for the 16 years we were in the system.

[At1WithNature]

Originally Posted by Humboldt1

The way I figure it my tax dollars are paying for kids from austin regardless of what school they attend. If the cream of the crop (whose parents care enough to cheat the system) are mooching off taxpayers from oak park this sucks for those taxpayers. I don't think these kids will drag down the schools much as they mostly come from families that care about the education of their children.

I am a single guy and I pay for other people's kids in both Dupage and Cook County. My federal taxes fund sec8 and welfare and food stamps for the poor. If by cheating the system "inner city blacks" from austin can get an education and make something of themselves so that I can stop subsidizing their existence with my tax dollars I am all for it. Still, sorry for the home owners in Oak Park whose are paying for this. Hopefully, some of these "cheaters" will get an education and not be a drain on your future federal tax dollars.

boy, that is an awfully rosey outlook for these kids who grow up in the gutter compared to other communities. who is to say these kids from bad neighborhoods don't introduce drugs and gangs to kids of oak park or the other towns that have chicago kids sneaking into their schools? you can't treat these chicago kids like they are the best thing in the world and would become lawyers and doctors if they had a good school to go to. they still have the problem of the environment in which they live in which is a greater dictator of a child's outcome than the school in which they attend.

[hsw]

Various high-powered high schools, colleges and investment banks have been attempting "social engineering" in their admission/hiring quotas for past 10-20yrs+.....

At many HS, better students of whatever color seem to be over-represented in AP classes and among the Natl Merit Scholars, etc etc

At colleges like Wharton and Stanford, certain diverse groups seem to favor (and excel in) more competitive, quant majors like Finance and ComputerScience...others find majors perhaps more suited for their academic capabilities (or lack thereof)

At major investment banks, the most lucrative trading desks seem to attract the sharpest kids, no matter color, from the entering class of financial analysts (hired annually from the small group of elite colleges that feed the major NYC inv banks)....less capable hires seem to end up in less profitable, less quantitative, more sales-oriented groups at the inv banks....

Fairly efficient markets at various educational/career stages seem to "reallocate" people, ultimately in terms of pay vs skills and profitability, despite silly socialist attempts to artificially mimic composition of general population....

Interesting that the composition of the highest achievers in the most competitive academic settings or most lucrative industries are certainly "diverse", but simply don't reflect the general population in terms of color/national origin/gender....and prob never will in any somewhat efficient market...

[ParkerP]

Originally Posted by Careless

There are 3 things very wrong with this.
the way I see it, my property taxes goes towards schools when I don't even have any kids anyway so I'm not going to go nuts over a few folks sneaking in.

Ok, why don't you start paying more in social security taxes so I can collect benefits I'm not deserved?

I might be doing just that after the outcome of this election. I'm also paying into welfare for people who don't deserve it. I'm also paying into ss that may not even be available for me by the time I'm ready to retire. Your point?

Could the districts tighten it up? Sure. Will the parents find another loophole? You bet.

Could we require seatbelts on all cars? Sure. Will people still die in crashes? You bet. I wish more people took an economics class in their life.

Yes both of our scenarios are situations that are currently happening. Your point?

Your friend may want to start renting if this makes her that upset.

Because people who rent don't pay property taxes?

Ok you got me there. Maybe I should have said her friend should move to Mars of this makes her that upset.

That said, there's an excellent argument to be made for providing top quality schools for everyone. I get it.

Of course, we don't know how to manage that.

My answers are in bold.

[crbcrbrgv]

The real irony is towns like Naperville, Park Ridge and many others have been shipping kids in from the city soley for athletics for many years. They hook up their parents with great city jobs with great benefits that could have gone to someone that actually lived in the city their whole lives. To me, this is much more outrageous than some families trying to sneak their kids into OPRF, Evanston or Niles.