CPS takes another budget hit, loses $30M in expected state funding

Students sit outside Nicholas Senn High School in the Edgewater neighborhood.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

A change in state funding has caused Chicago Public Schools to lose almost $30 million in expected state money, representing yet another financial hit as district officials warn of ramifications in both the near and distant future.

In a surprise move Friday, the school district, Illinois’ largest by far, was dropped into the second tier of financial need — a move that comes with a corresponding reduction in funding. The change is due mostly to CPS losing enrollment and, specifically, students from low-income backgrounds.

The move was revealed when the state’s Board of Education released its calculations that determine how it will distribute money to school districts for the new school year. The distribution is based on how close each system is to providing what the state has determined is an adequate education for students. The formula takes into account a number of factors, including the number of students, what it would take to educate students living in poverty and the number of English language learners.

CPS sees another $45M hit to budget after agreeing to pay state back $87.5M over 8 years due to funding mistake

State asks CPS to repay $87M it mistakenly received over 3 years

City officials had thought CPS would continue to be seen as one of the neediest school districts in the state, as it long has been, classified in the “Tier 1” category. According to CPS’ budget unveiled earlier this summer, the district was anticipating “remaining in Tier 1 for the foreseeable future and receiving an additional $50 million in tier funding in FY2023.”

CPS spokeswoman Mary Fergus said Friday that officials understand the tiers are set in state law, “but any anticipated lower-than-expected funding from the state puts more pressure on our system at a time when our needs have never been greater.”

“Public schools are serving a wider scope of needs than ever before as we emerge from the pandemic and we need all the resources we can get,” Fergus said.

Allison Flanagan, associate director at the Center for Tax and Budget …read more

Source:: Chicago Sun Times

(Visited 7 times, 1 visits today)

USA News Posts - Related Posts:

Tim King, once named People Magazine’s ‘hero of the year’ as head of Urban Prep Academies, resigns Tim King, founder and CEO of Urban Prep Academies, speaks during Urban Prep Academies’ College Signing Day at Daley Plaza in the Loop in May. King confirmed his resignation from his post Monday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times The head of Urban Prep Academies, once named a “Hero of the Year” by People Magazine for founding charter schools that saw all of its Black male graduates get into college, has resigned. Tim King confirmed his resignation in an email to WBEZ and said he…
California budget continues to boost education spending as kids leave public schools Some of the spending in California’s record-breaking $308 billion budget seems to be an attempt to slow down the number of people fleeing the state. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, California saw the highest net outflow of residents in the country, losing 300,000 residents between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021.Florida and Texas, together, gained over 625,000 residents during that period, according to Census data. Meanwhile, the latest Census metrics show that Los Angeles, San Francisco, and…
Mount Carmel High School to remain an all-boys school Mount Carmel High School has told students it will not go coed beginning in the fall fo 2023.Google Maps Mount Carmel High School will remain an all-boys school. “The results of the feedback have made it overwhelmingly clear that Mount Carmel High School’s stakeholders want Mount Carmel to remain all-male, and that changing the school’s all-male tradition is not in the best interest of the school,” President Brendan Conroy said in a news release Tuesday. “Stakeholders’ input indicated that future…
Clay County officials lay out plans to keep schools safe Ahead of the new school year, Clay County officials on Monday laid out their plans to keep students safe and protect against mass shootings. Law enforcement met Monday at the Clay County Emergency Operations Center with staff from Tynes Elementary School in Middleburg about their active shooter plan. Law enforcement has been meeting with staff from every school in the county throughout the summer. Each school has a different layout, so law enforcement is working with schools individually to lay…
Keep working to transform the Chicago River’s South Branch Conditions along the South Branch of the Chicago River could start to improve under a new $1 million federal grant.Zack Miller/Sun-Times When it comes to protecting the city’s waterways, the Chicago River has gotten the short shrift compared to Lake Michigan. But we know better, now, fortunately. These days, the main branch boasts the spectacular Riverwalk, and access to the naturalist North Branch has improved. So it’s another good sign to see $1 million in new federal funding directed toward…
Tennessee's embrace of conservative Michigan college sours The president of Michigan's Hillsdale College was riding high earlier this year when he announced plans to launch 50 charter schools in Tennessee after Gov. Bill Lee originally asked for 100. Six months later, that relationship has cooled after Hillsdale's Larry Arnn made disparaging comments about educators, telling an audience including Lee that teachers “are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges.” The comments inspired outrage among lawmakers, teachers and other public school advocates already skeptical of the…
Baseline tests revived as LAUSD announces updated COVID-19 protocols As it enters its fourth school year with the coronavirus to contend with, the nation’s second-largest school district plans to scale back some of its pandemic-related protocols – most notably by ending mandatory weekly COVID-19 testing of all students and staff on campuses and no longer requiring individuals to check in using its Daily Pass system in order to enter campus. Additionally, the Los Angeles Unified School District, which dropped its indoor masking mandate last spring, will continue to make…
Metro’s North Hollywood housing project is mostly for high-income tenants, opponents say FILE – Terence Fredericks, of North Hollywood, waits to enter a train with his bike at the LA Metro Red Line subway in North Hollywood as he heads to work in Hollywood on Thursday, February 21, 2019. A housing and commercial project is planned for the NoHo Station, as well as a new entrance to the B Line (Red Line) and other amenities. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)NoHo Home Alliance members point out that LA Metro proposes to build 10,000…
Los Angeles OKs sweeping ban on homeless camps near schools The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to ban homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers during a meeting that was disrupted by protesters who said it criminalizes homelessness. The council voted 11-3 to vastly broaden an existing ban on sitting, sleeping or camping that currently only applies to daycare centers and schools specified by the council. The vote, which applies to public and private schools, came after a previous vote last month failed to pass unanimously.…
High school football: Practice starts in a week and Morgan Park has just one helmet Morgan Park’s Javon Clark (10) runs a drill during practice on August 9, 2021.Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times Morgan Park football coach Chris James has lofty ambitions for his team this season. He believes they can make a run in the state playoffs. But before those dreams can materialize Morgan Park needs a basic, simple thing: helmets. The Mustangs currently have just one. “It’s from a kid that turned it in late after last season,” James said. Morgan Park’s other 75…