Quote:
Originally posted by DeltAlum
Finally, I really wonder, as others have as well, if this had been a school of lesser stature whether such a big deal would have been made.
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That's a good question! We moved from the city to the suburbs to get away from the "roughness" our kids were being exposed to. I don't want to get into too much detail here, but suffice it to say they had an unfortunate experience that drove our move. IMHO, the reason the hazing captured attention was because it showed that kids can behave badly NO MATTER where you live or where you go to school. It makes people who have to deal with issues in their schools and who don't have as much as what they perceive people in Northbrook have feel better about their situations. I think that did drive a lot of the media coverage.
Illinois has very uneven school funding. It is heavily reliant upon local property taxes. The state's contribution to education is among the lowest in the nation. For example, District 225 spent $14,931 per student in 2002 (third highest spending in the Chicago area) while the lowest spending school district in the region spent $6,352 per student. This disparity has a huge effect on property values from district to district. This unfairness is considered an issue by many in the media and that bias could have fueled some of the initial coverage. The fact that it was on tape made it a story difficult for any news editor to resist.