If all had gone according to plan, there would have been a ground-breaking ceremony last month for an addition to the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. The first ceremonial shovel of dirt would have been tossed by the local alderman and civic leaders from the surrounding southwest-side community of Mount Greenwood, who might have praised the school for being one of the city’s best.
About 88 percent of the school’s students graduate (compared to a system-wide graduation rate of 43 percent). They score below the national average on standardized reading and math exams, but well above citywide averages.
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A magnet school, it draws students from across the city. They’re selected by lottery, and the competition is tough. There were 571 applications last year for 110 freshman spots, school officials say. The racial breakdown is about 70 percent black, 18 percent white, and 10 percent Hispanic.
“We give city kids contact with a different world,” says Lynn Hnetkovsky, who teaches animal science. “I grew up in a small town outside of Joliet. My grandmother had a farm. I was used to these things. But for our students it’s a first, learning about plants and animals.”
In 1989 the Board of Education set aside about $20 million in state capital-improvement money to build an addition that would include a gym, swimming pool, cafeteria, greenhouse, and several new classrooms. After two years of bureaucratic wrangling the final building plan was set for approval. But it needed a zoning change, which generally requires the local alderman’s approval. On September 4, 1991, Rugai held a public meeting on the plan.
The Beverly Review, a local paper, has been much more direct about the nature of opposition. “Publicly, residents pick out minor details in explaining their opposition to the school’s expansion plan,” read a recent editorial. “But privately, they admit race is a major reason they don’t want the school to increase in size. In [a recent newspaper article], though, Rugai refused to address this issue. She claimed that racism is not a factor. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all walk around with blinders on? She is either naive about the situation, or she has turned her head and pretended not to see the real problem. . . . Rugai now has a choice: Give these students a facility they deserve, or succumb to the whims of a few bigots.”
