PILSEN — Of the 416 schools in Chicago to see cuts amid a $106 million state budget crisis, 10 Pilsen schools will lose a total of $2.8 million in funding for the coming school year, according to data released Monday.
According to the Chicago Public Schools statistics, four Pilsen schools will each lose more than $400,000 in funding next year: Benito Juarez Community Academy, Pilsen's public high school; Cooper Elementary; Finkl Elementary; and Ruiz Elementary schools.
Schools that lost money are:
• Ruiz Elementary School, 2410 S. Leavitt St.: Ruiz suffered the largest blow in Pilsen with a $561,960 reduction in funding, reflecting a 10.5 percent cut in total budget. The school saw a 62-student drop in enrollment.
• Cooper Elementary School, 1624 W. 19th St.: With 50 fewer students attending next year, Cooper will see a $550,700 in cuts, reflecting a 15 percent reduction in budget.
• Benito Juarez High School, 1450 W. Cermak Road: Juarez will see its budget slashed $461,000 next year, reflecting a 3.8 percent budget cut. About 36 fewer students will be attending Juarez next year.
• Finkl Elementary School, 2332 S. Western Ave.: With 43 fewer students attending Finkl next year, the school will receive $418,200 less funding, reflecting a 14.8 percent budget cut.
• Whittier Elementary School, 1900 W. 23rd St.: Whittier will receive $308,150 less in funding next year, reflecting a 13.4 percent cut. The school reported a 26-student reduction in enrollment.
• Pilsen Elementary School, 1420 W. 17th St.: With 33 fewer students attending, Pilsen Elementary will receive $152,460 less funding, reflecting a 6.5 percent cut.
• Pickard Elementary School, 2301 W. 21st Place: Pickard will get a $147,700 cut in funding, reflecting a 4.27 percent drop. A dozen fewer students are projected to attend the school next year.
• Perez Elementary School, 1241 W. 19th St.: With 17 fewer students attending Perez next year, the school will receive a $138,140 reduction in funding, reflecting a 6 percent cut.
• Walsh Elementary School, 2015 S. Peoria St.: With 19 fewer students attending, Walsh will take a $33,130 hit — or 1.3 percent of the school's budget.
• Jungman Elementary School, 1746 S. Miller St.: Although three more students are expected to attend Jungman come fall, the school will still take a $24,571 hit, reflecting a 1.5 percent cut in funding.
Schools receiving more funding:
• Orozco Elementary School, 1940 W. 18th St.; Despite serving 19 fewer students next year, Orozco will a modest boost in funding — $15,694 more dollars, reflecting a 0.4 percent increase to the school's budget.
• UNO's De Las Casas Elementary, 1641 W. 16th St.; An UNO Charter elementary school, De Las Casas will receive $67,900 more in funding next year, reflecting a 2.5 percent increase. One additional student is expected to attend the school.
• Instituto Health Sciences Career Academy, 2520 S. Western Ave.; An Instituto Charter high school, the career academy will receive $33,220 more in funding next year, reflecting a 0.4 percent increase. Two fewer students are expected to attend the school
• Instituto Justice and Leadership Academy, 2570 S. Blue Island Ave.; An Instituto Charter high school, the school will receive $159,776 more in funding next year, reflecting a 9 percent increase. Nine additional students have enrolled.
• Instituto Justice — Rudy Lozano Mastery, 2520 S. Western Ave.; With 90 additional students in enrolled in the charter school program next year, the school serving mostly students age 17 to 21 will receive $940,000 more dollars next year, reflecting a 116 percent increase in funding.
Ted Cox breaks down CPS' cuts and how the CTU is responding:
“No one would argue that these are the budgets that we would like to be presenting, but they reflect the reality of where we are today: a budget deficit of more than $1 billion; the demands of a broken pension system; and a state education funding that is near last in the country,” said interim CPS CEO Jesse Ruiz. “We have tried to limit the impact on our classrooms, but we sympathize with teachers, parents and principals whose schools will be seeing fewer resources than last year.”
Since 2010, Illinois has taken a 13 percent cut from the state's budget, according to CPS.
Chicago Public Schools announced Monday that neighborhood schools will see almost $60 million in cuts district wide, while charter schools and other charter programs for at-risk students would see a combined $30 million in gains.
CPS Chief Financial Officer Ginger Ostro said 238 schools would see increased funding, at a total of $68.5 million, while 416 will 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 to 8, with $4,697 for students in kindergarten through third grade and $5,444 a pupil in high schools.
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