Chicago Public Schools is trying to buy the old Notre Dame High School for Girls to relieve overcrowding at a northwest side school. But one of the district’s powerful charter schools wants the building for itself.
 

Reinberg Elementary is severely overcrowded, with hundreds of kids attending class in cramped mobile classrooms.  At a meeting Tuesday night CPS said it wants to convert Notre Dame to an elementary school and make improvements to Reinberg. 

But the United Neighborhood Organization is also bidding. It wants to locate an elementary and high school at Notre Dame. UNO CEO Juan Rangel:

RANGEL: Instead of battling it out with us over that building, I would suggest that CPS fulfill its commitment to our community here and build a brand-new modern school.

Earlier this year, Illinois lawmakers gave UNO what’s believed to be the biggest capital grant ever to a U.S. charter school operator: $98 million dollars.

Meanwhile, CPS is in a budget crunch. It says buying Notre Dame is cheaper than building an addition to Reinberg.