State Representative Elected To Local School Council
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An Illinois state representative who once proposed merit pay for local school council members was among the 6,000 people recently elected to LSCs in Chicago.
WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller reports Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago) was elected as a community representative for George Rogers Clark Elementary School, a couple blocks from his home in the South Austin neighborhood.
"There is no better position that I can think of to complement the work that we do in Springfield than to serve on the LSC," he said.
Two years ago, Ford – a former Chicago Public Schools teacher – proposed legislation that would have provided merit pay for LSC members at schools that showed academic improvement.
"The community did not embrace it as I thought that they would. Therefore, the proposal was abandoned by me," he said.
Ford said he no longer supports such a proposal now that he's on an LSC. Local school council members are unpaid volunteers.
"I would actually vote against the measure now," Ford said.
Ford was indicted on bank fraud charges in 2012. He has denied any wrongdoing.
"This is something that I would love to have behind me," he said.