WICKER PARK — Of the 416 schools in Chicago to see cuts amid a $106 million state budget crisis, 10 schools in the Wicker Park, Bucktown and West Town neighborhoods suffered cuts due to declining enrollment while five other schools saw gains.
All combined, the 15 schools in the Wicker Park, Bucktown and West Town (including three charters schools) area suffered a combined $2,043,346 loss of in core instruction funding and $1,130,892 in supplemental funding.
But there were gains too, with a total of $1,084,545 added to budgets at Burr Elementary, 1621 W. Wabansia Ave.; CICS-Bucktown, a charter elementary school at 2235 N. Hamilton Ave; LaSalle II Magnet School, 1148 N. Honore St. and Sabin Magnet School, 2216 W. Hirsch St. and Clemente High School, 1147 N. Western Ave.
Both Noble Network charter school campuses, Golder College Prep and Noble Street, lost a total of 118 students and suffered about 5 percent and 8 percent budget hits, respectively.
CICS-Bucktown, the only charter elementary school in the area to see a budget gain, grew funding by 1 percent for the 2015-16 School Year, while simultaneously suffering a $67,254 hit to core instruction funding. The Bucktown charter has a projected budget of $6.2 million for an anticipated enrollment of 677, up by just two more students from last year.
By contrast to CICS-Bucktown, the largest non-charter neighborhood elementary school is Pulaski International School at 2230 W. McClean Ave., which is projected to serve 804 student this fall with a budget of $3.6 million. Pulaski lost $122,481 in funding and will see a 2 percent decrease to its budget.
The hardest CPS neighborhood school hit was Jose de Diego Community Academy, at 1313 N. Claremont Ave. in Wicker Park. A "welcoming school" when three neighborhood schools in Humboldt Park were shuttered in 2012, Jose de Diego is projected to lose 77 students in the fall. The school saw about a 16 percent decline in its budget.
De Diego's former principal, Alice Vera, was reassigned last July as a result of a CPS probe. Vera was replaced by a Patricia Gonzalez, who previously was the founding Academic Director at UNO Soccer Academy, a charter elementary school in the Southwest Side Gage Park neighborhood.
Ted Cox breaks down CPS' cuts and how the CTU is responding:
Also hit by losses were Drummond Montessori, which lost $157,498 in supplemental funding and will see a 5.34 percent cuts to overall budget. The school at 1845 W. Cortland St. in Bucktown added just 2 more students for the 2015-15 year, bring its total projected enrollment to 281.
Chicago Public Schools announced Monday that neighborhood schools will see almost $60 million in cuts districtwide, while charter schools and other charter programs for at-risk students would see a combined $30 million in gains.
In a media conference call on student-based budgeting Monday, CPS Chief Financial Officer Ginger Ostro said 238 schools would see increased funding, at a total of $68.5 million, while 416 see budgets cut, at a total of $99.5 million.
"Money follows the students," Ostro said, adding that projected CPS enrollment for the coming school year is 372,275, down about 1 percent from last year.
According to the district, so-called neighborhood schools are expected to enroll about 4,000 fewer students in the fall, while charters increase enrollment by about 3,000 students.
Basic student-based budgeting would remain level at $4,390 a student for grades 4-8, with $4,697 for students in kindergarten through third grade and $5,444 a pupil in high schools.
Where does your school budget stand? Check out the spreadsheet below to find out:
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