As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.
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In the News: Quinn budget cuts to public schools; end of rubber rooms
By: Cassandra West / July 02, 2010
Gov. Pat Quinn slashed $241 million in public school funding Thursday, reducing financial support for student busing, reading programs and textbook loans. Spending for transportation fell by $84 million, or 24 percent. The $68.5 million for reading improvement grants was canceled completely. And the Illinois State Board of Education's administrative budget was trimmed by 8 percent. (Tribune)
Gov. Pat Quinn slashed $241 million in public school funding Thursday, reducing financial support for student busing, reading programs and textbook loans. Spending for transportation fell by $84 million, or 24 percent. The $68.5 million for reading improvement grants was canceled completely. And the Illinois State Board of Education's administrative budget was trimmed by 8 percent. (Tribune)
In reaction to Quinn's budget, new CTU president Karen Lewis, released a statement: “Today, subsidies for developers and kickbacks to corporations won out over educating children and providing all citizens with basic health and social services that make life livable,” Lewis said. She also called on Mayor Daley to return TIF funds and "get real about property taxes. In the state, once and for all state legislators must do their job — overhauling taxing policies that do not keep pace with rising costs, and collect and distribute money for education equitably." (press release)
WBEZ's Lynette Kalsnes reports on a CPS program that is immersing some teachers in the city’s Chinese, Arab, Indian and Mexican populations this summer. Their goal is to increase their cultural awareness so they can pass it on to their students, and make lessons come alive.
The National Association for Urban Debate Leagues
has named Linda Listrom (left), a partner with Jenner & Block law firm for more than 25 years, its executive director. Listrom is a former debater and current NAUDL board member. NAUDL, based in Chicago, facilities participation in organized debate activities for urban students. (press release)
In the state
New University of Illinois President Michael Hogan told reporters on his first full day that he'll be looking for ways to reduce the university's reliance on state government funding, and that will mean an even greater reliance on tuition and donations from alumni and others. (Peoria Journal Star/AP)
In the nation
Peter C. Groff was named the new president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. He says he will push for better, school-appropriate facilities for charters, equitable funding for charter schools, more diversity in the charter school movement and continued innovation to serve the needs of children and their families. Groff, who was born in Chicago, is former director of the Center for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the U. S. Department of Education. (Ed Week)
For the last several years, New York City teachers accused of incompetence or wrongdoing have been forced into rubber rooms, formally called Temporary Reassignment Centers, where they receive a full salary but do not work while they wait for the city department of education or a hearing officer to decide their fate. But city officials and the teachers' union agreed to eliminate the rooms. Beginning in the fall, those teachers will perform administrative duties or be sent home if they are deemed a threat to students. Roughly 700 teachers and administrators are spread among seven reassignment centers. (New York Times)
A study of the National School Lunch Program finds that the program leads to a significant increase in educational opportunity and attainment, but an insignificant increase in health levels from childhood to adulthood. An article reporting on the study appeared in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management and is the first to evaluate the long-term health and educational effects of participation in the lunch program. (Science Daily)
More California school districts edging closer to insolvency, state officials say. (Los Angeles Times)
In the News: Quinn budget cuts to public schools; end of rubber
I think the Tribune report on the State Budget and K-12 education funding that Catalyst linke to, missed something very major about the Governor's press conference yesterday. It missed the fact that all of the documents the Governor provided to the media were about appropriations and budget reductions. The state pension fund obligations were never included in any of these documents provided to the media at yesterday's PR conference. The media was provided absolutely no documentation on revenue projections related to the budget.
I watched the entire meeting via the internet and the media challenged the Governor repeatedly as to whether the state had adequate revenue to meet the budget that was being presented to them especially since the Governor promised to pay off all back bills by December 31 and promised to make all monthly payments to the pension funds even without the Illinois Senate approving the Governor's $3.7 billion pension-borrowing plan. Without the borrowing to make the pension payment, the pension payments get in line with everybody else. Effectively the Governor at this press conference gave those payments priority over agency spending, and this was not lost on many of the reporters at the meeting, but was totally left out of the reporting.
Budget director David Vaught was pressed at the PR conference about revenues and how the Governor could meet his commitments even with using his new powers under the Emergency Budget Act of 2011 which would allow him to take money from almost any agency at any time up through the end of December, including the ISBE, and pay off debt. Mr. Vaught answers did not seem to appease the testy reporters.
Here are some very bad facts about the State's current revenue situation:
In April 2010 State revenues dropped $501 million from the same month in 2009.
In April 2010 gross corporate income taxes fell $247 million, or $203 million net of refunds.
Through April 2010, gross personal income tax has fallen $697 million, or $629 million net of refunds for the year. Sales tax receipts are off $461 million, while gross corporate income tax is down $382 million, or $315 million net of refunds for the year. Inheritance tax has declined by $51 million and public utility taxes by $84 million. All of the other revenue sources net an additional decline of $47 million for the year. [All of this information comes from the Illinois Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability]
Rod Estvan
In the News: Quinn budget cuts to public schools; end of rubber
Right on Sister!
http://vimeo.com/13012492
In the News: Quinn budget cuts to public schools; end of rubber
On D299 blog you posted that you think the cuts don't affect CPS but I was curious about what you thought of the 84M cut to transportation. I know in the CPS press release regarding the budget it mentioned cuts to transporation. Will this affect CPS's transportation line? If so, to what degree? I asked on D299 but you must not have seen my response to you.
http://www.illinois.gov/publicincludes/statehome/gov/documents/Budget%20...
In the News: Quinn budget cuts to public schools; end of rubber
How many CPS teachers are in rubber rooms?
In the News: Quinn budget cuts to public schools; end of rubber
I responded on D299 to the transportation issue as follows:
I am sorry for my delay in responding to the question of July 1. The ISBE approved for general (not special education) transportation in its tenative budget on June 24th about $270 million which was about $83.9 million less on a statewide level than in FY 2010. On Feburary 18th the ISBE budget for transportation funding had actually been increased on a statewide level by $3 million.
So yes, CPS will experience a proporotional reduction for ISBE transportation funding. In FY 2010 CPS spent about $101.5 million for transportation (p. 72 FY 2010 budget) this is inclusive of special education transportation which was not cut by ISBE due to Federal funding requirements. If I was to venture a guess about the actual funding loss to CPS on this line item I would say around $16 million, this is far, far less than the loss in special education funding CPS had been fearing and budgeting for up to Governor Quinn's presentation last week.
Rod Estvan
In the News: Quinn budget cuts to public schools; end of rubber
So, CPS still had 20M on the table for gifted/magnet transportation...do you think they will cut bussing for these programs? I know they can't for SPED, which is a good thing.
In the News: Quinn budget cuts to public schools; end of rubber
I hope CPS makes an announcement soon if they do plan on cutting bus service to magnets and gifted programs. Parents will have to make alternative arrangements and that can't be done one week (or one day) before school starts.
My family depends on the bus to get our kids to the magnet they attend. However, if bus service was cut, we'd do whatever it took to get them there on our own. Over my dead body would they attend our neighborhood school. Still, it would be helpful if we had any kind of notice on this matter, say as in NOW, when there is still time to figure out a carpool, hire a sitter, whatever.
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