"I don't want to send my kids to any second-class school anymore," she said.
State Senator James Meeks and a group of 85 pastors have been drumming up support for a mass boycott to draw attention to funding disparities in public schools.
More than a hundred church buses are ready to take thousands of students to Winnetka, where they will attempt to register at the affluent New Trier High School and Sunset Ridge Elementary School. Students must pay tuition to attend schools outside their home district.
Like many states, Illinois uses property tax revenue to operate public schools. Property taxes here account for about 70 percent of school funding. Rural and inner city schools generally end up with less to spend per student than suburban schools do in areas with higher property values.
Administrators at New Trier High School said they're preparing for as many as 2,000 students from Chicago today. Boycott organizers say they plan to set up impromptu classrooms led by retired teachers in the lobbies of area businesses after the first day of protests.
The effort runs counter to Chicago's annual attempt to boost first-day attendance.
"Any adult that tells their child not to go to school sends that child down a path that is self-destructive," said Chicago schools CEO Arne Duncan. "Yes, we are desperately underfunded. Yes, we need to challenge that status quo. But let me be clear. Adults should fight that battle. Children should be in school."
Chicago Public Schools, the country's third-largest school system with more than 400,000 students, spent $11,300 per student last year. New Trier High School spent $17,500 a student.
Illinois State Board of Education spokesman Matt Vanover said the comparison is unfair because the Chicago district has hundreds of elementary and secondary schools. The Winnetka district has only one high school. Furthermore, high schools typically receive more funding than elementary schools, he added.
Boycott organizers said they're prepared keep their children out of school for at least a week.
