Schools Scrambling To Balance Budgets With Severe Cuts On The Horizon
By Chuck Sudo in News on Jun 21, 2013 6:25PM
Chicago Public Schools’ switch to a student-based budget (SBB) funding model is being touted by the School Board as “ensuring that principals will no longer be limited in their ability to invest resources in a way they believe will best meet their students’ needs,” according to a fact sheet released by CPS.
But the budget model, which is based for the first time by the number of students attending a school as opposed to the number of positions, has been tempered by budget cuts that have principals at schools throughout the system making hard choices and looking at outside-the-box ways to balance their budgets.
- At Whitney Young Magnet High School (Michelle Obama’s alma mater), principal Joyce Kenner is proposing charging $500 per student to attend a seventh period of classes. Young is faced with $1 million in budget cuts and Kenner told DNAInfo Chicago she’s considering the option if it’s legal.
Aaron Cynic/Chicagoist
- Burley Elementary in Lincoln Park, facing a half-million in cuts, may have to scrap its art program.
- Parents are fearful other schools will cut electives like art, music, gym and technology classes.
- The early college Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program Mayor Emanuel loves to crow about may have to be cut at Lake View High School.
So things are tough all over, even after the Board of Education's decision to permanently shutter 50 schools. And this $1 billion deficit CPS says is staring them in the face actually has its roots in the district's Paul Vallas-Gerry Chico era. Chicago magazine's Whet Moser explains:
In 1995, CPS was facing a projected 1999 deficit of $1.4 billion, plus the familiar problems of low scores and dropout rates. So Paul Vallas proposed a fix:
"Vallas, who will submit his proposed $2.9 billion budget to the Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees Monday, said he trimmed $161.8 million by reducing 1,700 central office staffers and trades workers; eliminating waste from special education and other departments; and gutting an elaborate program designed to network the district's computers.>At the same time, he came up with $206.8 million in revenue by contributing less to the teachers pension fund; keeping some of the discretionary funds schools get for low-income students; putting 20 surplus properties up for sale; and shifting to the general fund monies that financed after-school programs at school fieldhouses.
"So CPS was able to reduce its pension funding; they were supposed to pay in $93 million, but cut that to $10 million. Meanwhile:
Part of the deal was that property taxes that had been directed to pensions would instead go directly into school operations. Another part of the deal was that the General Assembly would make it a "goal and intention" each year to give the city teachers pension fund 20 percent to 30 percent of the amount allocated for the suburban/downstate teachers pension fund.
--snip--
"CPS got a break on paying into the pension fund, and the state slacked off on it. But everything stayed cool—i.e. the funding ratio stayed above 90 percent—because of investment returns. Then the stock market cooled off and the ratio started falling. From 2002-2011, the number of retirees increased by about 7,000, and the number of contributing members fell by about the same. In 2004 the funding ratio dropped below 90 percent."
So these tough budget questions are simply the chickens coming home to roost. But at least the clout-heavy charter school group, United Neighborhood Organization, says construction of a new charter school is back on track now that Gov. Pat Quinn has released $100 million in state funding. This news comes as parents and teachers across Chicago are lobbying aldermen to have Mayor Emanuel declare a TIF surplus similar to the one Rich Daley did three years ago. That move provided $100 million to CPS. If the School Board is looking at every available option to close the deficit, they should start there.