DOWNTOWN — A week after raising more than $100,000 to prevent teacher layoffs, friends and parents of Ogden International School now worry Chicago Public Schools could use their prolific fundraising against them.
In a voicemail shared with DNAinfo Chicago, CPS Network Chief Herald "Chip" Johnson — whose network covers Downtown, Near West Side, Near North and South Side schools — told a parent last week that he's going to focus on "other schools who are not as fortunate" as Ogden after she called with concerns about planned cuts to special education.
Listen to the complete voicemail message:
The voicemail came just days after Ogden parents raised more than $130,000 in a day to prevent teacher layoffs. But Ogden's administration is still bracing to cut five special education teachers and three aides next month in a separate budget decision from CPS. Ogden is slated to cut more special ed jobs than any CPS school this fall.
"I'm not sure if my work is gonna be as valuable as the work that the parents have already done" at Ogden, Johnson said in the voicemail. "It looks like Ogden is in a pretty good place. So I'm gonna get back to the work of working with some of my other schools who are not as fortunate, who are losing teachers and who don't have the resources that Ogden has."
The message compounds concerns among some Ogden parents that its private fundraising could hinder the school — whose east campus draws from Downtown neighborhoods — in CPS budget decisions.
"Ogden is one of the more affluent public schools of Chicago, what about the dozens or hundreds of other schools who don’t have the means to avoid this?" Ogden parent Randy Kohl previously told DNAinfo. "Why would [Ogden] not use the same tactic next year?"
Johnson and a CPS spokeswoman did not return messages seeking comment. Michael Beyer, Ogden's principal, declined to comment.
Lydia Kusper, the former Ogden parent who called Johnson, said he never addressed her concern about the proposed special education cuts. She pulled her daughter with special needs out of Ogden in June, but still remains involved with the school.
"CPS has gone too far this time," she said. "These parents have paid their taxes, so why do they have to fund teachers? We pay our taxes and [CPS is] hitting us out of our wallets."
Ogden is hardly the first CPS school to face budget cuts, or privately fundraise to supplement them. But Johnson's voicemail candidly acknowledges that the practice could influence budget decisions from CPS' central office. Last week, a CPS spokeswoman told DNAinfo the school district "encourages" school principals to "support the visions" of parents interested in raising private funds for their public school.
“While it is no secret that CPS is dealing with financial challenges, we are committed to working with schools to provide sufficient support to serve all our students. Nevertheless, we understand that some schools are interested in providing supplemental services and programs, and we encourage our principals to engage with the community to support those visions," Emily Bittner, a spokeswoman for CPS, said in the statement last week. "As we continue to work on a solution to our budget challenges for all our students, we will need the participation of all our partners to achieve a resolution.”
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