AVONDALE — As Chicago Public Schools grapple with $85 million in mid-year cuts, Reilly Elementary School is one of the lucky ones — although luck had little to do with it.
The bilingual neighborhood school steered clear of cuts to its $5.8 million budget thanks largely to $92,640 in savings from last year.
Another $111,278 in redistributed federal money erased the $203,116 in initial cuts for Reilly. The district reallocated Title I grant money to schools with the highest concentration of students living in poverty, cutting central office programs in the process.
RELATED: Chicago School Cuts Revealed: See How Your School Fared
In fact, Avondale's four neighborhood elementary schools, four charter schools and alternative high school chipped away at a $2 million hole with the help of federal money and carryover from last year's state aid. Set to lose $2,088,233 in per-pupil funding, the adjustments halved that loss to $1,069,064.
While Reilly had by far the largest amount saved from last year, Von Linne, Lorca and Avondale-Logandale also had "rainy day" funds to lessen the blow of the districtwide cuts.
Avondale's four neighborhood elementary schools fared better than the CPS average, losing between 1.1 and 1.4 percent of their annual budget. The charter schools in the neighborhood lost 1.75 to 2.2 percent, while the average across CPS was 1.4 percent.
Pathways Education High School Avondale had largest percent cut from its budget, losing 2.8 percent of $1.6 million in revenue.
MORE: What Do Chicago Public School Budget Cuts Mean for Your Child?
ASPIRA Pantoja High School, a nontraditional charter high school for students between 17 and 21 years old, lost the most with $642,834 in cuts after adjusting for a $417,193 increase in Title I money and a $101,097 carryover from last year's Title II money, which pays for instructional material. However, as part of CPS efforts to redistribute Title I money, Pantoja also lost $161,593. Overall, the charter school must cut 2.2 percent of its $29 million budget.
Not even the network chiefs knew how their schools would be affected until Tuesday, said Network 4 Chief Ernesto Matias, who oversees the four Avondale elementary schools.
"We're hoping the cuts will not be so drastic as to eliminate teachers from their positions," Matias said during a Monday night State of CPS forum at Blaine Elementary School in Lakeview. "Our principals are extremely smart, and they have saved money for rainy days."
Matias said instead, the cuts could come from unfilled open positions, money set aside for substitutes or discretionary funding.
Here's how all nine public schools in Avondale fared:
ASPIRA Early College High School: The charter school will lose $75,595 from its $3.4 million budget, amounting to a 2.2 percent cut. While the school did receive an additional $62,431 in federal money, CPS took a $20,657 reduction because it plans to run fewer Title I-funded programs this year. Before the school year began, ASPIRA Early College gained $361,034 after it enrolled 23 more students than expected.
ASPIRA Haugan Middle School: Initially set to lose $113,078, the STEM-focused charter school offset the cuts with a $59,548 increase in Title I money plus another $13,901 in federal aid for instructional materials. Coupled with a $27,445 loss due to the district redistributing of Title I money, Haugan must cut 1.9 percent of its $3.4 million budget, totaling $67,075. At the start of the year, the school saw an almost 3 percent increase due to an enrollment growth of nine students to its 578 enrollment.
Avondale-Logandale Elementary School: Hit hard at the start of the year by a $248,048 decrease in enrollment-based funding, the neighborhood school will lose another $65,568 — 1.4 percent of its $4.6 million budget. However, a $94,615 increase in Title I money helped lessen the blow of what could have been $164,997 in cuts. The school also carried over $4,814 in state aid from last year.
Lorca Elementary School: After a 22-pupil drop in enrollment that cost Lorca $114,210 at the start of the year, the neighborhood school must cut another $64,045 from its $4.8 million budget. A $98,824 increase in Title I money offset a much larger loss, along with the $15,139 the school carried over from last year. In all, Lorca will lose 1.3 percent of its funding.
Pathways Education High School Avondale: Pathways was the hardest-hit school in Avondale. Part of the district's alternative learning program for students 17-21 who want to re-enroll after leaving the school system, the school is losing 2.8 percent of its revenue, totaling $45,922 of $1.6 million. The school did carry over $5,618 in last year's money for instructional materials, and it also received an additional $20,090 in Title I money. However, that gain was largely lost due to a $15,055 cut from reducing the Title I programs the district will offer to charter schools. In the summer, Pathways suffered a 17 percent cut of $580,767 due to a 43-student drop in enrollment.
Reilly Elementary School: The only Avondale school to escape cuts, Reilly will actually add $802 to its $5.8 million budget. The neighborhood school — which offers bilingual programs in Spanish and Polish — had a $203,116 reduction in enrollment-based funding, but increases in federal money and a $92,640 carryover in last year's state aid nullified the loss. Reilly gained $111,275 in Title I money, which CPS redistributed to schools with higher numbers of students living in poverty. Earlier this year, the school had a 6 percent budget cut after a 33-student decrease in enrollment.
UNO Fuentes Elementary School: Fuentes fared the best of Avondale charter schools, losing 1.7 percent of its $3.8 million budget. A boost in Title I and Title II money alleviated the initial $125,199 in cuts, dropping it to a $66,973 loss. The school also had $23,327 cut from Title I money as part of the redistributing to to schools with the highest concentration of students living in poverty. At the start of the school year, Fuentes got a $216,077 boost in supplemental money following a two-student increase.
Von Linne Elementary School: The Spanish dual language elementary school will lose $41,855 out of an initial $130,359 cut to per-pupil funding. Saving $21,560 from last year's state aid helped lessen the blow to Von Linne's $3.7 million revenue budget, along with a $66,944 increase in Title I money. In the fall, Von Linne lost $93,290 in student-based money after it gained just one student.
YCCS ASPIRA Pantoja School: The charter school for grades 10-12 is part of the Youth Connection Charter School network, which is facing a 2.2 percent cut to its $29 million budget. The program serves 3,869 students across 19 campuses, and CPS did not provide a breakdown by school. YCCS must trim $642,834 from its budget after receiving an additional $101,097 in federal money for instructional material and $417,193 in Title I money. However, CPS central office program cuts mean the YCCS system will lose $161,593 in Title I money.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
