EDGEBROOK — Edgebrook Elementary School — among the hardest hit by the mid-year budget cuts by Chicago Public Schools officials — will not have to lay off any teachers, Principal Chad Weiden told parents.
In addition, class sizes will not increase at the top-rated Edgebrook school despite the loss of $84,428, which Weiden said was "not a small sum," in a message to parents.
Because of conservative budgeting — and a contribution from the parent group Friends of Edgebrook — the school will be able to absorb the cut, which amounted to 3.3 percent of its budget.
But Weiden warned parents the school faces an uncertain future if district officials reduce the amount of money schools get for each pupil by $214. That would mean a loss of an additional $110,000 for the school's 2016-17 budget, Weiden said.
"To put this number into perspective, $110,000 pays for close to two teaching positions," Weiden said. "This could be have a huge impact on the services we provide as a school."
That means parents will have to donate more to the school at 6522 N. Hiawatha Ave. next year and should prepare for more requests to participate in fundraising efforts, Weiden said.
All school families must participate in the school's ongoing cash raffle by buying or selling eight tickets at $25 each, Weiden said.
Next year, parents will be asked to participate in a spring fundraising event and to contribute to Edgebrook School Friends directly, Weiden said.
Ten elementary schools on the Far Northwest Side saw their budgets slashed by more than 3 percent as part of unprecedented midyear budget cuts announced by Chicago Public Schools officials.
To help fill a $480 million budget deficit, CPS officials reduced the amount of money the district gives each school for each student. In order to lessen the blow, district officials agreed to give schools leftover state funds and federal money set aside for low-income students.
But that means the schools that suffered the biggest cuts will be the ones with the highest enrollments as well as those with the fewest low-income students, like most — if not all — Far Northwest Side schools.
More than 20 percent of the schools citywide that lost more than 3 percent of their budget are on the Far Northwest Side, one of the most affluent areas of the city — and a part of the city where schools are significantly overcrowded.
Seven other Far Northwest Side schools lost 2 percent to 3 percent of their budget, while two others lost less than 2 percent, according to documents released by school officials.
CPS officials said they had no choice but to make the cuts after it became clear state officials had no intention of filling the school district's budget hole, and negotiations for a new contract with the Chicago Teachers Union fell apart.
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