CPS, Teachers Union Try to Stop the Bleeding

By Prescott Carlson in News on Apr 23, 2010 9:40PM

Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman, members of the Chicago Teachers Union, parents, and religious leaders met at the John M. Smyth* Magnet School on West 13th Street Friday morning hoping to "send a strong message to Springfield."

According to CBS2, numerous people stepped to the podium to detail the "painful impact" that Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn's plan to cut $1.3 billion from education funding would have on schools and students. One estimate was that the budget cut would mean 20,000 teachers and school staff members being laid off. While Quinn and others have called for a state income tax increase to close the revenue gap, that move isn't gaining much traction in the state legislature -- especially during an election year.

Huberman was quoted as saying, "We need level funding for education in Illinois. Illinois starts from the point of being ranked 49th out of 50 states when it comes to funding public eduction."

Huberman added that the cuts would be "devastating" on students in the Chicago Public School system. CPS has already made several cuts to try and overcome a current $1.2 billion deficit.

But new allegations of "attendance cheating" may hurt Huberman's message that the district needs/deserves more money. CBS2 also uncovered more possible instances of "ghost students" within CPS, due to what some teachers interviewed says is due to an "attendance-tracking computer system that can be easily manipulated." A "ghost student" is one that is consistently truant, but is marked either "present" or "sf," which indicates the student is at a school function. Truancy levels directly affect the number of tax dollars allocated to a school.

Reporter Dave Savini interviewed teachers at Hyde Park Academy and Turner-Drew Elementary Language Academy who said they were aware of attendance tampering. Savini had previously found evidence of tampering at B.E.S.T. High School and Steinmetz Academic Centre High School. A CPS spokesperson told Savini the inspector general is currently investigating.

* Yes, that John M. Smyth.