BUCKTOWN — Parents packing an emergency Local School Council meeting at Burr Elementary School on Wednesday learned that the district's mid-year budget cuts would result in no lost teacher positions at their school — an announcement from Principal William Klee that got applause.
Klee told parents that the school had enough money in its supplemental fund to cover a loss of $57,415 but the shifting around of money was "not without sacrifice" and spending plans to increase technology would be put on hold.
Additionally, Klee told parents the school could no longer spend money on substitute staff to come in whenever teachers were hosting standardized tests.
"This is just the beginning of the storm. There are more storms we will have to weather. [Fiscal year 2017] could be a different situation," Klee said, referring to the next school year, which will continue what Klee described as "a two-year plan" by CPS president Forest Claypool.
"Let's get this behind us and focus on making sure kids move up, grow and learn," Klee said.
By comparison, this week's mid-year cuts amount to a loss of 3.23 percent of school's overall budget; in 2013-2014 the school saw 22 percent of its budget slashed and lost two teachers.
"I was assured once we have these cuts, school budgets will not be cut again for this year," Klee said. "We've got to be optimistic."
Burr Elementary School, a top-rated neighborhood and magnet cluster school at 1621 W. Wabansia Ave., serves 380 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and has another 35 in pre-k classes.
Klee said the school, which employs 34 teachers including aides, is on an "upward trajectory" with enrollment.
After the meeting, LSC chairwoman Tricia Rosado said, "We are very grateful and fortunate that this ripple was able to be contained; [Klee] is very transparent with us."
Jessica Fine, a Norwood Park resident who has two kids enrolled at Burr, said she was impressed with the way the brief meeting went.
"I think it's fantastic we have a principal that can communicate with the community," said Fine, who transferred her two children to Burr at the start of the year.
On Friday, Klee will meet with the LSC to go "in depth" on the budget changes he has crafted.
Elsewhere in the neighborhood, LaSalle II Magnet School, 1148 N. Honore St., will lose $16,984 or 0.61 percent of its budget. Principal Lauren Albani is hosting an emergency meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday with the school's LSC.
In an email to DNAinfo Chicago, Albani called the 0.61 percent loss "actually a bit misleading. "
"Our total cut was $115,859. The reason we only have a total net loss that is so low is because when we allocated funds at the beginning of the year we anticipated possible mid-year cuts and therefore were frugal in our spending and allocations. As a result, we had funds that could be utilized to help cover the overall loss and then we were able to reallocate other funding for the remaining $16,984, which minimized the overall impact at LaSalle II," Albani wrote.
Albani added, "While this year we will be able to minimize the impact to our overall educational program, I am concerned about additional cuts for next year. We certainly cannot sustain continued cuts to our budgets without compromising our ability to provide a quality educational experience for our students."
A.N. Pritzker School, 2009 W. Schiller St., will lose $116,811 or 3.31 percent of its budget, according to the CPS numbers released Tuesday. Principal Dr. Joenile Albert-Reese is having an emergency meeting with Pritzker's LSC at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Here's the school-by-school impact:
Despite these cuts, many schools have been preparing for the worst and will use rainy day funds to avoid laying off teachers or cutting programs. Still, even after factoring in federal grants and leftover state funds from previous years, many schools will have hundreds of thousands of dollars taken away.
RELATED: What Do Chicago Public School Budget Cuts Mean for Your Child? A Q and A.
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