April 23--Mayor Rahm Emanuel, out of the loop again!
Wednesday, the mayor's handpicked Board of Education ousted one of his most prominent critics -- award-winning Blaine Elementary School Principal Troy LaRaviere -- in a distracting, inflammatory move that will cost Emanuel political capital at a particularly bad time.
Our news report on the "reassignment" of LaRaviere to inactive duty quoted a statement from Janice Jackson, the chief education officer for the Chicago Public Schools: "We did not consult the mayor in making this decision." It also quoted mayoral spokeswoman Kelley Quinn: "CPS handles its own personnel matters, with which the mayor does not interfere."
So I guess Emanuel found out about it just like everyone else: What? No way! Really?
It was reminiscent of when Emanuel told us last November that he hadn't seen the dashcam video of a police officer gunning down Laquan McDonald until it was released it to the public -- even though a city lawyer who negotiated a $5 million settlement with McDonald's family in April had described the images as deeply troubling.
I'm not going referee the decision to give LaRaviere the broom. CPS was vague about the reasons he had to go, citing "alleged acts of misconduct, including violations of a previously board-issued warning resolution." LaRaviere has long ruffled feathers in City Hall with his criticism of what he called Emanuel's "backward education policy and corrupt fiscal management of our school district," his opposition to certain standardized tests and his political activism, though there may be more to the brief against him.
I've always been impressed with the guy. He's a passionate speaker and writer, and his results --multiple merit bonuses based on student improvement at his North Side school and the enthusiastic support of his parent community -- speak for themselves.
I thought the headline "CPS Principal Troy LaRaviere Whacks Rahm -- and Still Keeps His Job" over a column by Chicago magazine's Carol Felsenthal earlier this month spoke well of the mayor's ability to tolerate vigorous dissent in the education ranks. And that it was smart of Emanuel not to amplify LaRaviere's influence and underlying points by turning him into a martyr.
Now LaRaviere is a cause celebre. Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders issued a statement from the campaign trail Thursday: "The only explanation for his removal appears to be Mayor Emanuel's unhealthy obsession with taking revenge. It is absolutely unacceptable that a school principal is facing politically motivated retaliation because he dared to stand up to the mayor of Chicago. I condemn Principal LaRaviere's reassignment and call on Democrats around the country to stand up against Mayor Emanuel's pettiness."
Emanuel, facing a potentially chaotic teachers' strike as early as next month, budget crises everywhere he turns, a surge in violent crime and the task of selling a skeptical public on a new plan to build the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on the lakefront, doesn't need this additional and unnecessary controversy.
Local school councils are well equipped to get rid of principals. By swinging the axe, Emanuel's Board of Education risks elevating a man who was not particularly well-known outside of activist circles into a prospective 2019 mayoral candidate.
This "reassignment" highlights LaRaviere's complaints about CPS, and seems likely to land him in a position -- with a think-tank or other organization -- where he'll be able to devote himself full time to coalition-building, networking and advocacy of an anti-Emanuel political agenda. It also makes the mayor look like a thin-skinned bully.
That's obvious, right? So, of course, Emanuel did not interfere and had nothing to do with CPS' decision to pull such a clumsy public relations move, right? Of course he was as surprised as the rest of us, right? Right?
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