Managing dollars as enrollment declines

Absent a dramatic reversal of demographic trends, CPS will continue to lose students by the thousands each school year. School districts throughout the United States are dealing with the same problem.

 

Managing existing CPS resources will then require responsive, measured judgements – not political incitement. CPS continues to serve about 80 percent of school-aged children in Chicago as it has for the last two decades; what explains the decline in CPS enrollment is the decline in Chicago’s population. There is not much CPS leadership can do about outmigration of residents, aside from supporting the strongest public school system possible. As CPS board member representing the 4th District, I will support budgets that fund classroom instruction, after-school programs, and ESL programs. I will also make certain we are tracking outcomes with rigorous data.

 

We are in a tough position. The last American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds are being spent and the CPS budget will need to reflect a new funding environment. Chicagoans are rightly upset about the unfulfilled promises of the 2013 school closures. As board member representing the 4th District, I cannot promise to spend dollars we don’t and won’t have. All I can promise to inform residents of our budget realities and make decisions based on the facts.