DOWNTOWN — Ogden International School will stomach nearly $264,000 in new budget cuts this week without cutting any teachers, its principal told parents Wednesday.
Michael Beyer, Ogden's principal, sent an e-mail to parents Wednesday afternoon saying their fundraising and the school's "belt-tightening" will stave off any job losses despite the six-figure budget cut handed down this week by Chicago Public Schools.
But Beyer also offered a warning.
"Although we are in the clear for now, we will be left with precious few resources to finish the school year, not to mention dealing with budget challenges that lie ahead for next school year," Beyer said in the e-mail.
CPS on Tuesday ordered Ogden to slash $263,562 from its budget this week, on top of previous cuts the school made earlier this school year. Ogden serves grades K-12 on two campuses: 24 W. Walton St. and 1250 W. Erie St.
Earlier, Ogden addressed last summer's $400,000 budget cut by tapping all the money it made leasing a parking garage to Gibsons Restaurant Group. Ogden parents in September raised nearly $140,000 in a day to prevent the loss of special education teachers after the school's enrollment growth did not meet CPS projections.
RELATED: Ogden School Finds Paradise in a Parking Garage
The new cuts delivered this week represent 3.1 percent of Ogden's school budget, higher than the average 1.4 percent cut handed down across all non-charter CPS schools. Schools with the highest enrollment were cut the most across the district. In his e-mail, Beyer also urged parents to pay their student fees, attend PTA fundraisers and donate to the Friends of Ogden school booster club.
CPS is operating at a $1.1 billion deficit and its budget this year included a $480 million hole that CPS chief Forrest Claypool hoped could be filled through state funding by the new year. But the money never came, and with few signs it will, Claypool said Tuesday that the district had to take drastic action by slashing $120 million, $85 million of which will take effect this school year. Claypool has denied the new cuts this week are an attempt to pressure the Chicago Teachers Union as they negotiate a new contract.
RELATED: Ogden Parents Raise $130K to Save Teachers' Jobs, But Should They Have To?
Beyer's announcement follows that of Jones College Prep principal P. Joseph Powers, who told parents Tuesday his Downtown school will also absorb its six-figure budget cuts without layoffs.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
