CPS EXPECTS 8,000 FEWER STUDENTS; PER- PUPIL SPENDING GOING UP $ 200
Chicago Public Schools principals on Thursday were told that the district will boost per- pupil spending by about $ 200 next academic year, while extra spending on special education students will remain flat.
And officials expect that 8,000 fewer students will show up for classes in September, a troubling decline but lower than last year’s 11,000 drop.
CEO Forrest Claypool described the 5 percent spending increase — to about $ 4,290 for elementary students from $ 4,087 a year ago — as part of a “hold- steady” budget amid terrible financial conditions.
“This is designed primarily to allow schools to cover increased personnel costs from the most recent contracts,” he said during a conference call with reporters. “But as always, you’ll see ebbs and flows on an individual school- by- school basis, based on their unique characteristics.”
Teachers and other staffers in the Chicago Teachers Union were awarded new raises in last October’s contract for cost of living as well as for extra experience and education.
The entire budget, to be released in full on Aug. 7, assumes that $ 300 million in new state money will be approved by state lawmakers, despite the governor’s promise to veto $ 200 million of it.
The district overall expects $ 2.281 billion in federal funding for the upcoming school year, about $ 43 million less due to a decrease in students overall and in poor students, too.
“We’re going to make sure for this school year that our schools open and remain open,” Claypool continued. “We will do whatever is necessary to make that happen despite the very difficult fiscal position we’ve been put in because of the dramatically unequal state funding system.”
Meanwhile, principals gathered all day at Westinghouse College Prep High School on the West Side to collect individual budgets and enrollment projections.
Most of those leaving the meeting at Westinghouse weren’t eager to talk. But those who were, anonymously, described the mood as “tense.”
“This is the worst I’ve seen it because we’re still banking on money we haven’t gotten from the state,” said one elementary school principal from the Southwest Side who wouldn’t give her name.
She added: “At this point, if they would fire me, I would welcome it. It’s that bad.”
Several complained their enrollment projections seemed low. But they also said that for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade, the per- pupil spending is actually a little higher this year than last.
“I actually saw additional allocations for my school,” said the Southwest Side elementary principal, noting she has two additional aides coming this year in her special education department.
The base allocation is $ 4,290 for elementary students in grades four to eight. For children in kindergarten through third grade, it’s $ 4,590, up from $ 4,372. Next year’s allocation for high schoolers is $ 5,320 per pupil.
The Chicago Teachers Union said the budget is still unsustainable.
“For the third year in a row, CPS leaders have provided a budget to schools without any idea of how to pay for it,” union president Karen Lewis said at a news conference at union headquarters.
She acknowledged the budgets offer some hope for special education and that they return some cuts from earlier in the year, “But these merely allow the district to run in place.”
“So while the latest budget does signal the district is getting serious about financing obligations to our new contract and special education, it does not go far enough to address all the critical needs of CPS students and their families,” Lewis said.
Lewis predicted, based on enrollment declines and uncertainty in Springfield, that mid- year cuts could be coming — as well as possible furloughs.
Principals also were told that special education funds — a point of contention in the past — will remain steady, even as enrollment is declining. Schools also are not allowed to spend any of that money on general education needs. All special ed money will be distributed now, unlike last year when 4 percent was held back in anticipation of later changes. And the money won’t be co- mingled with general education money any longer.
This marks the third straight year that CPS budgets have counted on money from Springfield the schools system doesn’t yet have. As a result, last year and the year before, schools faced mid- year budget cuts after hundreds of millions didn’t end up coming to CPS.