Remember the proposal also states that "if a student’s residence has 2 or fewer private schools within the 15-mile radius, the radius will be expanded to a 30-mile radius". Using an area I'm familiar with, JCA and Provi are less than 15 miles apart but I don't think there's any other private schools within a 15 miles of those two schools which would allow them both to keep the 30 mile radius.
In Illinois, would this rule have much of an effect outside of the southside of Chicago/south suburbs?
This exception in the proposal is
MEANINGLESS to what many families are looking for in a private school. It shows the public school mentality that a private school is a private school is a private school. As far as the proposers of this amendment are concerned, you seen one private school, you seen 'em all.
The proposers of this amendment don't understand about differences in religious education. They don't understand about differences WITHIN the Catholic faith with respect to the different religious communities that run many Catholic schools and how, for example, Jesuits have different educational philosophies than Dominicans. They don't understand about differences with respect to single gender vs coeducation. They don't understand about differences with respect to school size. They don't understand about differences in tuition. And, why would they understand these things? They simply do not register in their public school mindset.
Imagine I'm Jewish, and I want to send my kid to a Jewish high school and he wants to play sports there. However, the closest JEWISH high school is over 15 miles away with lots of non-sectarian, Catholic, Christian, and even Muslim high schools in between where I live and the closest Jewish school. I can still send my kid to the closest Jewish high school, but he can't play sports? You seen one private school, you seen 'em all.
If I want my kid to have a single gender girls Catholic education, and I live in Hanover Park, 16 miles straight west of Resurrection College Prep, does she not get to play sports there because coed Elgin Academy (with its full cost tuition that is $12K MORE than Resurrection), and coed St. Ed's, coed Harvest Christian, and coed Westminster Christian are all closer to our home than Resurrection? You seen one private school, you seen 'em all.
If I want my kid to study Mandarin at a Catholic high school and I live over 15 miles from Loyola, are you telling me that he or she can't play sports there because there are plenty of private high schools within a 15 mile radius from my home REGARDLESS of the fact that none of them offer Mandarin and Loyola does? You seen one private school, you seen 'em all.
If I follow the Opus Dei movement within Catholicism and I want my kid son to go to an Opus Dei school, but we live more than 15 miles from Northridge Prep, can he really not play sports there because Loyola, Notre Dame, Christian Heritage Academy, North Shore Country Day School, and the two Jewish schools in Skokie (among others) are all within 15 miles of my house and Northridge Prep (the only Opus Dei school for boys in the Chicago area) isn't? You seen one private school, you seen 'em all.
This proposed amendment sucks.