11 million dollars. That’s how much money will not be going to CPS next year. Instead, it will be used to renovate The Harold Washington Library and The Sulzer Regional Library in Lincoln Square.

These renovations include: replacement lighting, heating systems, cooling towers, the building’s roof will be repaired or replaced and of course touch ups on the library’s beautiful exterior.

Don’t get me wrong. I love The Harold Washington Library, especially in the winter when my friends and I need to escape the cold. But as a former CPS student, I can’t help question where this money is coming from and why it isn’t being used to fund school programs and resources. And why now, in the midst of a historic $1 billion budget deficit?

In my opinion, Mayor Rahm Emanuel should be focusing on Chicago’s education and students’ safety, not fixing the city’s libraries that clearly are not in crucial need of renovation.

Some say that poor test scores are to blame for the lack of funding, but without proper resources, how can schools expect to raise students’ test scores? Kids are not receiving the quality education they deserve. Instead they are left to fend for themselves.

Mayor Emanuel doesn’t understand the circumstances these kids live in. He grew up in the privileged North Shore and graduated from New Trier, a school we all know has countless funds dedicated to student education resources.

Unlike Emanuel, I went to school with kids who had a two hour commute, kids who only went to school for the food because they barely had any at home, kids who were involved with gangs and drugs, and kids who had to go the extra mile by themselves to get the education they didn’t receive at school.

Chicago, it’s time to set your priorities straight. Either you renovate two libraries that are not in need for immediate renovations, or renovate our corrupt education system and keep kids off the streets and in school.