How does the Board of School Directors justify the Plan when over 80% of the parents are happy with the schools their children attend?
Indeed, telephone surveys conducted by UWM’s Center for Urban Initiatives and Research (CUIR) and summarized in the Final Report indicated that of the 635 interviewees included in the Final Report’s sample, 62.7% said they were “very satisfied” with the schools their children attend. Another 26.5% reported feeling “somewhat satisfied.” These results are heartening. CUIR’s research also indicated, however, that 34.1% of all parents interviewedand 40.3% of those who live within the District’s 28 most overcrowded attendance areasidentified “location” as the factor most important in deciding on a school. Most of these (83% of those in the larger sample who identified “location” as the most important factor) said that “location” meant a preference for “a school close to home. Even more significantly, 64.7% of all parents surveyed reported that it was either “somewhat likely” or “very likely” that they would send their children to a neighborhood school if that school provided the services th
