catalyst-chicago.org

Layoff Disaster

Donal Trump is right about the unemployment rate. Tenured teachers being laid off be of new ideas and to bring in family and friends; is contributing to causing a bigger recession. When it's all over; the lay offers will to be laid off; because it is all going to lead into a terrible recession. Just count the number of tenured teachers who have lost their jobs. That has added to unemployment. Keep on adding more and it will be more unemployment. Teachers should have been left alone. Tenure rights should have stood; then there would have been less unemployment. You don't open a door and let least producers in when things are working. The suburban school system is right. They keep their teachers longer years and get better production. Chicago schools are the role model for the nation; and has a big mess. If you think schools are on probation now; just wait. With all of the new young teachers hired in; and the tenured ones thrown out; watch the mess.Sick days don't even accumulate. Not even for Principals and Assistant Principals. Then of course; we are doing this to please the parents. Because we want the votes to stay in office. Buy you have messed up the lives of many teachers; their pride; their benefits; their honor for the Chicago Public Schools. The tenured teachers and their families will not be giving those votes. Hopefully the rest of the nation stop following Chicago's model and continue to cause less unemployment in their states. Something is just not ticking in Chicago. Crime is too high. It can't be controlled. Now it will be higher. Younger teachers can't guide children. Don't know how. Always remember; experience is better. That's why it's called experience. Then you have run veteran principals and assistant principals away. Have inexperienced principals and assistant principals in that do not know how to lead or control discipline. What do you expect. A recession IS looming. A lot of schools are going to have to close. And it will be because it was not done in a respectful manner. It was done in a wide open; but deceptive way. Just for greed and gain. Well, with the new frillies intact; all will be well now. ALL schools WILL come off probation. Doubt it. Doing people wrong; WILL not product any right.

re: Danny V post

Ms. Karp was talking about two things. One was the overall decline in the CPS capital budget and second was the decline in the ADA line within that budget which CPS lists as going from $20 million down to $500,000.

Your question about options for maintaining a reserve balance is a very legitimate one. We believe and state in the review CPS should develop a far more realistic funding proposal for charter schools based on more realistic assumptions for enrollments and projected numbers of special education teachers. Other options including additional utilization of City TIF funds if the Mayor agrees and selling off unused property need to be explored. For the most part however, these options are stop gap measures and will generate funds for limited periods of time only. We believe CPS can reduce costs for special education services to some degree by moving to servicing some moderately disabled students in regular rooms using fully cross certified teachers. But to do this ISBE rules need to be modified, the CTU would have to agree to allow teachers who would take on this task be paid at a different higher rate, and the CPS would need contain the class size for rooms were cross certified teachers were instructing students.

We do not support reducing staff for students with severe forms of autism as the FY 13 budget does. In fact, we believe that staff could be added back over the course of the year because the cuts will prove to be unrealistic and supposed savings will in reality disappear. But the damage to children will be done.

It is also our belief that maintaining a reserve fund will actually save CPS money. This is because we believe state aid payments could again this year be delayed and CPS would likely have to dip into the reserve to pay staff, hopefully for only short periods of time. Without these reserves CPS could be forced to do many bad things, including using short term tax anticipation notes at higher interest rates because of the decline in CPS' debt rating, delaying payments to vendors who will raise rates for CPS to make up loses, or even use its power to transfer money between funds thereby forcing cuts during the course of a school year. Mass closings of schools that are in areas with major population declines saves limited amounts of money because the students have to go somewhere. Even charter schools cost money.

There is no simple solution to problems CPS faces, but not having a reserve fund that state law (105 ILCS 5/34-43) specifically notes in relation to CPS is "to ensure uninterrupted services in the event of unfavorable budget variances," is clearly not a solution.

Rod Estvan