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Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday released a list of schools that are underenrolled according to this year's attendance figures, providing additional data for a commission that is studying school closings but may not weigh in on which buildings should be shuttered.
CPS officials have said the nine-member commission, appointed by district CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett, is working independently and will issue recommendations that include a list of proposed schools to close.
But commission member and state Sen. Iris Martinez, D-Chicago, said Tuesday she's not sure the group's work will result in such a list.
"Our job is to look at the utilization issue in elementary schools,"
A spokeswoman for CPS, which recently won an extension until March 31 to reveal the schools it plans to close, said there are no monthly goals for the commission and that it's not known when the body might release its recommendations.
"That is up to them. We don't know at this point," said spokeswoman Becky Carroll in an email.
The district says underuse will be the key factor in deciding what schools to close. According to the list released Tuesday, enrollment at 330 of the 681 total schools is below 80 percent of what the district has determined to be the ideal population. Of those, 139 schools are only half full or less. Nine of those are privately run, publicly funded charter schools.
Although CPS officials have said student performance will not be a determining factor in closing schools, 91 of the district's worst-performing schools are among those deemed half empty.
School enrollment and utilization data can be found at: www.cps.edu/qualityschools.
