April: Principal hirings II
LSCs at the remaining half of schools sign principals to four-year contracts.

June: Reform Act Adjustment
The Legislature fixes LSC election procedures, giving five votes each to parents and community members. Technically, voting by faculties and students becomes advisory, with the School Board appointing the winners to local school councils.

June: Budget jostling
Reforms repeal an effort by Supt. Kimbrough to use the next installment of state Chapter 1 money (to be used at local school council discretion) to help balance the system's budget.

August: Reform plan rejected
Acting on power granted by the Reform Act, the Chicago School Finance Authority, created in the wake of the system's 1979 financial collapse, rejects the School Board's reform plan as weak on decentralization.

September: Job cuts
The board doesn't have the money for promised 7 percent raises, so, to balance the budget and get schools open on time, it cuts 520 teaching positions, 81 assistant principals and 11 teacher-librarians. Wage talks continue.

October: LSC elections, labor deal
The second LSC elections draw 8,173 candidates and 161,100 voters; of those elected, 60 percent are newcomers. Maintenance unions agree to skip 7 percent raises in return for job guarantees for next year.

October: Teacher survey
A survey of elementary school teachers by the Consortium on Chicago School Research shows that "on balance," teachers are pro-reform but don't expect their teaching to change as a result.

November: Wage cuts
In the office of Mayor Daley, the board and the Chicago Teachers Union agree to scale back raises to 3 percent, effective Feb. 7.