In a move the district acknowledged was unprecedented for the middle of a school year, Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday cut millions of dollars from school budgets, forcing principals to refigure their plans with the second semester just underway.
The cuts to CPS’ per-pupil funding rate were slightly deeper than laid out last week, when the district said it would save $75 million through budget reductions. On Tuesday, the district said $85 million would be cut this school year.
The cuts, however, will be softened by tens of millions of dollars in state and federal money, much of it directed toward schools with low-income students. That means the net impact of the reductions, according to district figures, is closer to $26 million.
District data show some of the city’s top high schools with large enrollments will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars. About 50 schools will actually get more money. Privately operated charter schools will take a hit, though the district didn’t provide details Tuesday on budget cuts to those schools.
Principals have to update their budgets by next week, CPS said. Layoffs because of the cuts would be made by the end of the month.
The district said it instructed principals not to lay off teachers. CPS acknowledged some principals maintain “contingency funds” that would buffer the effect of cuts to their schools.
Principals have been told to free up some money by moving jobs or programs that are funded with student-based budgeting dollars to accounts fed by federal funding.
“Although I’m losing money, compared to what I was expecting it to be, it’s not as bad,” said Rita Raichoudhuri, principal at Wells Community Academy High School. “We’ll survive. The kids are going to be fine. I’m going to lose one teacher and make do with that and we’ll see what happens next year.”
Student’s academic programming and schedules will have to change because of the cuts, she said.
“It’s just going to be a huge headache for me to redo this budget thing midyear. It detracts my time and energy from other important work, while dealing with all the anxiety this causes at the school level.”
In a statement Tuesday, Claypool repeated that the cuts could be restored if CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union can agree on a new labor contract. Absent that, Claypool has said CPS will stop paying for the bulk of teachers’ pension contributions as soon as next month.
“Our hope is that we will be able to reach an agreement with the CTU, which will allow us to roll back these personnel reductions before we have to give notice to employees at the end of this month,” Claypool said.
Claypool said the district and the union have “had productive meetings” since a union bargaining team last week turned down an offer for reasons that included what CTU officials described as nebulous language.
The CTU on Tuesday called the budget cuts “unnecessary and completely retaliatory” and that the district’s contract offer “would not have impacted the current school year or existing school budgets in any way.”
Claypool outlined the cuts last week, the day before CPS managed to borrow $725 million worth of bonds in exchange for promising investors extraordinarily high interest rates. He said he wanted the cuts to be implemented “as quickly as practicable,” which left principals scrambling to determine how the cuts would affect their school just after the start to the district’s second semester of classes.
“These painful reductions are not the steps that we want to take, but they are the steps we must take as our cash position becomes tighter every day — especially as the District relies on short-term financing to pay its bills — and we are doing everything in our power to sustain the gains our students are making in their classrooms,” Claypool’s statement said.
The cuts are being made to money CPS gives schools under its “student-based budgeting” practice. CPS said it was reducing the base amount of money schools are given per student to $4,176, a reduction of $214. The district said last week it would reduce the rate by closer to $190 per student, but gave no explanation for the larger cut.
Cuts will be mitigated by what the district said was about $41 million in federal funds, a move CPS said was made with approval from state authorities. Federal money used to blunt the cuts will be pulled from programs and reserve accounts the school district has yet to publicly identify.
Additionally, the district said it would cushion this year’s cuts with unused portions of supplemental general state aid money that is normally distributed to schools to spend.
The district in January said it was saving $32 million this year through bureaucratic job cuts. Roughly a third of more than 220 employees receiving layoff notices worked in jobs related to special education services. The district said ending its practice of absorbing the bulk of teacher pension contributions would save an additional $65 million.
CPS said those efforts, combined with a proposed $120 million worth of school budget cuts next year, will lead to savings of $335 million in its 2017 budget year.
Twitter @PerezJr
![Residents and taxpayers of Barrington School District 220 rated safety and security, and a new auditorium at Barrington High School, as priorities for the school district, officials learned as community input was collected in preparation for a potential multi-million-dollar referendum that would be placed on the ballot in the November election. The data was shared with school board members April 2 by EO Sullivan Consulting, which was hired by the district to collect community feedback through phone and online surveys, four public engagement sessions and referendum advisory committee meetings. Information had been collected in three phases and began earlier this […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PPN-L-bcr-district-220-feferend-002.jpg?w=390 "Residents and taxpayers of Barrington School District 220 rated safety and security, and a new auditorium at Barrington High School, as priorities for the school district, officials learned as community input was collected in preparation for a potential multi-million-dollar referendum that would be placed on the ballot in the November election. The data was shared with school board members April 2 by EO Sullivan Consulting, which was hired by the district to collect community feedback through phone and online surveys, four public engagement sessions and referendum advisory committee meetings. Information had been collected in three phases and began earlier this […]")
![For nearly a decade, the “Black Teen Empowerment Summit” in Township High School District 214 has included students from across the six-school district who take part in what has become an annual tradition. This year, the summit was held April 19 at Rolling Meadows High School, and featured motivational speakers and inspirational activities with goals according to organizers, to promote belonging, personal appreciation, wellness and self awareness. Principal Megan Kelly said approximately 150 students attended from across the district. The Arlington Heights-based school district has nearly 12,000 students, with 49% of them of minority heritage – including 2% African-American. “I […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PPN-L-AHP-Black-Teen-Summit-12.jpg?w=526 "For nearly a decade, the “Black Teen Empowerment Summit” in Township High School District 214 has included students from across the six-school district who take part in what has become an annual tradition. This year, the summit was held April 19 at Rolling Meadows High School, and featured motivational speakers and inspirational activities with goals according to organizers, to promote belonging, personal appreciation, wellness and self awareness. Principal Megan Kelly said approximately 150 students attended from across the district. The Arlington Heights-based school district has nearly 12,000 students, with 49% of them of minority heritage – including 2% African-American. “I […]")
![Glencoe’s Earth Day Clean-Up event on Saturday, April 20 left Glencoe Beach and the Robert Everly Wildflower Sanctuary along Linden and Jackson Avenues was renewed this year thanks to volunteers. The community clean-up began at 10 a.m. in partnership with the Glencoe Sustainability Task Force and the Friends of the Green Bay Trail. The two-hour event took place on a bright, breezy day with temperatures reported at Glencoe Beach at 9:51 a.m. at 40 degrees. The rain or shine event was free. Volunteers were asked to bring boots, gloves and buckets to collect debris. Refuse and recycling cans were placed […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PPN-L-GLN-earthdaybeachcleanup-0425241-4.jpg?w=548 "Glencoe’s Earth Day Clean-Up event on Saturday, April 20 left Glencoe Beach and the Robert Everly Wildflower Sanctuary along Linden and Jackson Avenues was renewed this year thanks to volunteers. The community clean-up began at 10 a.m. in partnership with the Glencoe Sustainability Task Force and the Friends of the Green Bay Trail. The two-hour event took place on a bright, breezy day with temperatures reported at Glencoe Beach at 9:51 a.m. at 40 degrees. The rain or shine event was free. Volunteers were asked to bring boots, gloves and buckets to collect debris. Refuse and recycling cans were placed […]")
![The Grammy-winning trio Time for Three will share their diverse repertoire when they perform at 7:30 p.m. April 27 at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston. The performance is part of the Music Institute of Chicago’s performing series. “Time for Three is one of the most vibrant, dynamic, exciting young ensembles on the scene right now,” praised Mark George, President and CEO of the Music Institute of Chicago. “They are unique. These musicians are trained at the highest level, at the Curtis Institute and Juilliard. They have classical technique and they apply that to classical music, pop music, jazz, […]](https://www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PPN-L-EVR-timeforthree-042524-01.jpg?w=439 "The Grammy-winning trio Time for Three will share their diverse repertoire when they perform at 7:30 p.m. April 27 at Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Ave., Evanston. The performance is part of the Music Institute of Chicago’s performing series. “Time for Three is one of the most vibrant, dynamic, exciting young ensembles on the scene right now,” praised Mark George, President and CEO of the Music Institute of Chicago. “They are unique. These musicians are trained at the highest level, at the Curtis Institute and Juilliard. They have classical technique and they apply that to classical music, pop music, jazz, […]")