In fall 2008, he announced a boycott of the Chicago Public Schools, urging his congregants and people from other churches to keep their children home until Chicago inner-city schools received more funding from Springfield. Meeks pointed out that at New Trier High School in Winnetka, thousands of dollars more are spent on each student, compared to Chicago Public Schools, where the population is mostly minorities from low-income homes. Over a thousand students met outside New Trier High School in the suburban North Shore to protest. The boycott ended after two days when governor Rod Blagojevich said he would not with Meeks during a boycott.