Budgets for individual Chicago public schools were issued Monday, and neighborhood schools are facing $60 million in combined spending reductions for the new school year. Charter and contract schools, on the other hand, are slated to get a $30 million boost in funding.
The funding difference is mostly due to enrollments that are projected to decline at neighborhood schools and increase at charter and contract schools. CPS uses a student-based budgeting system, under which principals receive funding to spend on positions at their own discretion based on the number of students in their school.
Overall, schools are expected to see a net funding loss of $31 million.
The school spending cuts are also connected to the $200 million in budget reductions that cash-strapped CPS announced after it was required to make a $634 million payment on June 30 to the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund.
As part of CPS' budgeting for schools, the district is anticipating $500 million in pension reform savings from Springfield. If CPS doesn't get the pension reform it is looking for, additional budget cuts are expected to hit schools.
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants state lawmakers to put a stop to the "dual taxation" of city residents as it relates to teachers' pensions. Currently, Chicago taxpayers provide funding for two teachers' pension funds -- one for Chicago teachers and another for suburban and downstate educators.