The study is expected to counter widely held beliefs that councils are not fit to govern and that elected members do not have the skills to make important decisions about schools. The study is based on surveys of 1,900 council members at 325 schools. Councils are composed of six parents, two community representatives, two teachers, the principal and, in high schools, one student. Susan Ryan, co-author of the study, says news reports about dysfunctional councils have fostered a skewed view. Myths tend to arise when people pick up the newspaper.
People have an image of LSCs as being more trouble than they're worth.
Only 14 percent of LSC members report that their councils do not deal constructively with differences of opinion. In the area of qualifications, the study found that council members have more education than does Chicago's adult population. Three out of five council members have some college or a bachelor's degree, compared to two out of five adults citywide. Only 13 percent of LSC members have no high school diploma, compared to 34 percent of Chicago adults. Such stability offsets the higher turnover among other parent members, and maintains a level of policy and budget expertise, says Ryan.