Pensions, School counselors and social workers, New South Side high school
Good afternoon, Chicago and beyond! In just over an hour I’ll be livetweeting today’s Chicago Public Schools Budget Public Hearing for #CHIdocumenters @CHIdocumenters. It’s a hybrid meeting you can attend in person or remotely. I’ll be watching the stream.
02:49 PM Jun 13, 2022 CDT
Budget hearings for CPS are always important to check out, and right now is no different. School-level budget cuts have sparked controversy in recent weeks. https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/06/01/teachers-could-be-cut-this-week-union-leaders-say-as-they-protest-slashed-cps-budgets/
If you want to check out the details for today’s hearing, Wednesday’s evening session, or the upcoming board meeting, you can find all of that at the Chicago Board of Education site: https://www.cpsboe.org/meetings
Get your tea ready, your livestream prepped, and I’ll be back at 4pm Central to get us going!
We have four members present which meets quorum, and the general counsel is also present.
We’re now seeing a presentation from Mike Zakowski doing an overview of the proposed 2023 Budget overview.
-$8 billion for the operating budget
-$765 million for capital budget
- $769 million for debt service
Sources of operating revenue. Note, this includes the federal relief funding that’s a one-time source. https://t.co/kKRDFq8kGe
There’s a $72M investment in instructional position, adding instructors to classrooms. https://t.co/PYbGGUqKdn
Breakdown of expenditures for academic recovery and social and emotional learning (SEL) https://t.co/zkRQ4vEL6F
Thing to note from this report not represented in the slides: They will not adjust school budgets in the fall if their enrollment falls below the projections. So schools will not have money taken away if they don’t hit their expected enrollment numbers.
Report presentation wrapped up, and now we’re on to questions. Question from board VP Sendhil Revuluri, given that we are not adequately funded, how are we able to do this, and will we be able to do this in future years?
A: We’re always short by $1.8 billion, while ESSER funding is a one-time thing. We’re making investments because of the availability of federal resources.
Q from Elizabeth Todd-Breland: Praises the use of the equity-index to drive resource placement. Wants to focus on staffing since moving staff around can feel like a loss to the community, asks for talking about where we are in process for ensuring all staff have places.
A: Staffing is focusing on teachers, there will be 500 more teachers. Over 1400 of the 2100 positions are staff directly supporting students. This is the first year we’ve been able to make guarantees about class sizes, no splits, access to arts, access for struggling students.
Felton answering now: If by August 15 if teachers haven’t found a position for next year, CPS will guarantee full time employment as a substitute teacher. Will also be doing hiring fairs.
Follow up Q from Todd-Breland: Progress about hiring social workers?
A: As of March 31st district is up 12% over last year, and also has seen an increase in nurses. On track to hit contractual obligations.
Q from Todd-Breland: How can we financially support a new school when we’re not fully meeting the needs of our existing schools?
Back to Zakowski: Investment funds are from the state of Illinois.
T-B: That’s funds to build the skill, but then we have to operate it. Where from?
A: That would be part of our regular budget process, so it would come from the funds we have.
T-B: So the funds would have to come from other schools?
A: Can’t speak to that particular investment but point taken.
Dwayne Truss: Asks question about school counselors and vacancies.
Felton answering again: Historically don’t have vacancies. They mostly play matchmaker between a counselor and a school community. Thinks supply of counselors is adequate to meet increased demand.
DT: Querying the $70M for construction. That wasn’t a line item in previous budgets.
MZ: There was money for a project at Near West HS that didn’t go forward, these funds are reappropriated.
DT: So we didn’t just bank $70M for future need?
MZ: Correct.
DT: New question about bonds, how’s our credit rating?
New speaker, I missed her name: We’re rated as junk most places, but our rating has been improving. It takes minutes to get downgraded, years to get upgraded again.
Luisiana Melendez: About the reappropriation from Near West HS to near south, what is the story we want our CPS constituents to know from this process?
MZ: Can’t speak specifically to engagement for this particular process. There were public hearings around investments that helped inform overall strategy in this year’s plan.
President de Valle suggests that there be somebody who can speak to it at the next hearing.
T-B: Want to make it clear that this isn’t money that’s already been bonded out. They’re being asked to bond out for new money.
Somebody off camera confirms that as being true.
Revuluri asking given enrollment decline and trajectory, why are we building more buildings? Not just this one, but can somebody explain to facilities non-experts.
President de Valle says question noted and will be answered.
There’ve been many compliments to staff from board members, deV is repeating them now and says this breakdown has been much clearer than in the past.
deV: Stresses that their goals have been to increase transparency and make it clear what the situation is at CPS and thanks staff help with that, particularly around expenditures taken on with federal funds.
Moving on to public comment.
Jackson Potter: “CPS saying we can’t preserve full time positions with part time money,” is akin to saying we can’t put out a house on fire bc we need to save the water. Says putting pension obligations due to city holidays on CPS budget is unfair. Staff losses are disruptive.
Somebody from CTU: Why is this budget not yet a recovery budget? Wants to talk about ESSER funding going to front line mental health support but over 3x that going to curriculum development. Yet there are big MH issues with students and staff burnout.
Further wants the revenue authority to be part of this since there’s nothing about that here.
Wants tax loopholes closed.
Ald from 25th ward Byron Sigcho-Lopez: “We have a real tragedy in terms of equity in our schools.” Teachers are leaving because we don’t have the conditions they need to provide quality education. Need more proactive approaches, not reactive approaches.
Need to support wrap-around services to deal with tragedies we have going on. Need to improve vaccine rates. Points out we don’t know effects of long-covid. We’re lucky if we get a nurse 1x a week. Not acceptable. We have solutions, need to help the 4k students who need transport
End of public comment.
This concludes the first FY2023 budget hearings. The next is on Wednesday at 6pm. Make sure to swing back for the answers to some of the ?s board members raised today. For more meeting coverage, check out http://documenters.org.