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* Whoa…
Nearly the entire Chicago Public Schools Latino Advisory Committee has resigned in protest of budget cuts.
Fourteen of the 16 members of the committee resigned Wednesday as Chicago Board of Education is set to meet in hopes of signing off on a revised budget to close a $111 million shortfall.
The committee members said they resigned because the cuts disproportionately affect Hispanic schools.
* Backstory from the Sun-Times…
When Chicago Public Schools just put a freeze on half of every school’s remaining discretionary money to save $46 million, CEO Forrest Claypool blamed Gov. Bruce Rauner for the cuts, saying he has no regard for the city’s impoverished black and brown children.
Claypool even filed a lawsuit last week, accusing Rauner of violating the civil rights of the minority children who make up nine of 10 CPS students by giving them less funding than their mostly white counterparts elsewhere in the state.
But it turns out that the way Claypool decided to cut school budgets this time — by freezing the rest of every principal’s discretionary money — has hurt majority Hispanic schools at twice the rate of schools serving mostly white children, and cut poor schools at twice the rate of wealthier ones.
Schools with at least 51 percent Hispanic students saw 1.8 percent of their total budgets frozen, on average — that’s about twice the average rate of 0.9 percent frozen at schools with at least 51 percent of white students, according to a Chicago Sun-Times analysis of the freezes.
The schools that lost the highest percentage of their remaining spending power — 1.8 percent on average — also serve the very poorest children, where nine out of 10 students qualify for the free or reduced-price lunch that is shorthand for school poverty. And schools where three out of four kids are poor lost 1.7 percent of their money; that’s roughly double the percentage 0.8 percent — that was lost by schools where just one of four kids is poor.
Schools that are both poor and Hispanic bore the worst of the cuts.
…Adding… In Chicago, it’s now blame it all on Rauner all the time…
"None of this would have been necessary if Gov. Bruce Rauner had kept his word," Claypool says.
— Kelly Bauer (@BauerJournalism) February 22, 2017
OK, but the CPS cuts still seem to target Latino schools. So, CPS announced an appeals process today.
*** UPDATE *** Ruiz is right about this…
In an extraordinary action with statewide political implications, former Board of Education Vice President Jesse Ruiz, who took over as interim schools chief after the 2015 indictment of Barbara Byrd-Bennett, and who currently chairs the Chicago Park District, showed up at today’s board meeting and accused CPS of bias in deciding how to implement $46 million in mid-year cuts.
In acting the way it has, CPS “lost the moral high ground” in its recent suit against Gov. Bruce Rauner and the state for allegedly underfunding CPS, Ruiz said. CPS can’t accuse the state of bias “when its own ‘method of administration,’ its budget cuts, have a disparate impact on predominantly Hispanic schools.”
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 10:22 am
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So…. this should save same money, yes!?! Thanks INS!
Comment by Puddintaine Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 10:43 am
For some reason I don’t think this will move the Gov. Just saying…..
Comment by Rocky Rosi Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 10:48 am
I wish good people wouldn’t resign. Staying and fighting needs to be the mode now. Resigning is privileged. Sorry
Comment by Honeybear Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 10:49 am
I’d like to see a before and after discretionary fund by school.
A friend of mine who is on the LSC for a majority white school claims a reason why her school didn’t get cut much. That school, she says, already had a very low discretionary budget, because CPS counts on her school’s parents to fundraise for discretionary spending, so CPS’ initial discretionary budgets are lower in more well-to-do areas of town.
Comment by Robert the Bruce Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 11:41 am
How is “puddintaine” bigoted allowed to remain?
Comment by Ex spsa Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 12:06 pm
This is kind of part of the exercise. Get underfunded schools to blame each other. Every school needs more money. Shifts the focus off of the decision makers.
Comment by Peters Post Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 12:39 pm
This may sound like a dumb question but…is the appeals process just for Latino schools or can any school appeal??? Also, I guess people don’t realize if appeals are won then CPS has to make up the money somehow. Originally they were thinking of just shortening the school year but now are considering laying off more teachers…
Comment by CPS parent Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 12:40 pm
Maybe the $250 million should come internally from cuts at the main office…and leave the schools alone — I mean THEY were stupid enough to fall for this dangling carrot a second time.
…who in their right mind believes the state will give $250 million if reforms were made..even *I* saw this coming when the carrot was dangled.
Comment by Mr Grumply Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 12:54 pm
I have to go along with Peters Post, They get the schools, or any union based agency, to start blaming each other, that takes the pressure off of the people who are at fault for this whole mess.
Comment by Nu2U Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 1:06 pm
==I have to go along with Peters Post, They get the schools, or any union based agency, to start blaming each other, that takes the pressure off of the people who are at fault for this whole mess.==
That would be Mayor Daley, who didn’t pay a dime into the CPS pension fund for a decade, state legislators in Springfield who let him, and CTU leadership for standing by and letting it happen.
Comment by so... Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 2:11 pm
And what will resigning prove ? Maybe lack of courage or lack of accepting truth or maybe lack of ideas to improve so you go you concerned Latino “advisors” maybevyou didn’t belong in he first place !
Comment by Railrat Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 2:15 pm
En masse resignation loudly and clearly says that we’re tired of being used as window dressing so CPS senior leadership can say they have one, but never actually consult with them or give them the time of day. It’s stops advisory bodies from being used as a shield from legitimate critique, or excuse for actual community engagement. As was demonstrated today, the advocacy won’t stop, it will just take a different form, where CPS management can’t dictate the terms to keep us in our place.
Comment by Former CPS Latino Advisory Council member Wednesday, Feb 22, 17 @ 3:24 pm
Scam is an attempt of fraud of websites that aim to make money by deception.All of us hope to have an advantage from the digital age we live in, it is sad that many people do not care and are trying to use all sorts of methods that lead us into error.
Comment by Ariana Tuesday, Feb 28, 17 @ 5:37 am