.
CPS bureaucrats claim that they cut $600 million from central office expenses in the current budget.
But they claim they cut central office expenses every year.
And yet they can’t find the cuts in the budget lines of the CPS budget.
They can’t show what was cut. Or where. Or how much. They can’t point to a budget line.
Asked about the $600 million in savings, CPS spokespeople said they referred to central office in the broadest sense and that it includes debt service, operations, citywide units of personnel who work in more than one school, and programs.
In their most recent statement on the budget, CPS revised the wording to say “central office directed spending.” They also say the total was rounded up and that actual savings were about $573 million.
I have a friend who when she wrote a check always rounded the amount she entered up so she never had to worry about over-drafts.
“How do you balance your check book,” I once asked her.
“Oh, after a while I just close the account and start over,” she explained.
She has nothing on CPS budgeting.
CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll admits it would be impossible to find evidence of the reductions in the official budget book. “It is not the way it works,” she says.
The district saved money in one area, but paid more for something else– and therefore, Carroll says, the reduction is not reflected in a line item. For example, Carroll says CPS saved $5 million when district officials renegotiated the milk contract. But because other food expenses went up, it doesn’t look like a net savings.
Still, she insists that if the milk contract weren’t renegotiated, the district would be in the hole for $5 million more.
“It is $600 million less than would have shown up on our balance sheet had we not done what we did,” Carroll says.
Follow?
Asked about the $600 million in savings, CPS spokespeople said they referred to central office in the broadest sense.
Yes.
The broadest sense being nonsense.
Fred Klonsky 
So when they cut citywide autism specialists, who are the only clinicians to work with extreme cases of autism, they consider that a cut in the “central office?” Nice.
Once again, no one has obviously read the Chicago Budget. That is where the answers are to the problem. Here is a quick 30 minute at the longest look at what is happening in Chicago budget wise. I have downloaded the 2012-13 budget. Why doesn’t anyone else do the same and just take a look so that you have hard numbers from their own document? How do you expect to fight them if you have no facts from them to argue? You really would not like to meet me in public on any of these issues as I am prepared with the facts as all of you should be before commenting on important subjects like this when all you have to do is download and look.
Chicago has about 404,151 students. They have $5.329 billion in total revenue for a /student of $13,185. Federal revenue is 17.6% of budget or $937.7 million of which $26.8 million is for debt. That is a high % of federal revenue. State aid is $1.076 billion of which $213 million is for debt. $598.5 million disappears in debt or $1,480/student. What is the Culture of Calm for $7.7 million? Of $144.3 million in cuts only $10 million from administration.
Since 2009-12 employees
central office has gone from 1,518 to 1,086 for a loss of 432 employees
citywide has gone from 3,199 to 2,522 for a loss of 677 employees
area offices, networks has gone from 174-204 for a gain of 30 employees
local taxes up $3.0 million
state taxes down $117.4
federal income up $83.3
total down $31.1 million
Portfolio Office up from $6.4 to $88.4 million in one year.
Talent Office $46 million
School Collaboratives (School funding) $3.6 billion or 73% for wages and benefits, very low percentage.
Black-41.6%
Latino-44.1%
White-8.8%
Research 30 minutes, writing 15-20 minutes. That is all it took to find out this much. What more do you think there is in there to disprove all of their allegations as to the facts which what they state is fantasy if anyone would just take a look. Is there no one in Chicago who can do 5th grade math for their students?
Their budget is now in my computer along with others. Once you know what you are doing you can bust anyone’s false statements in their financial records. They know no one reads them so they can make any statement they want to and who will know the real difference?
George,
Perhaps it is because you don’t live here that you suggest that there is a culture of calm or that nobody but you is investigating the CPS budget. But as the Catalyst article shows, and my own thirty years of looking at a school district budget has taught me, it is a document intended to hide more than it reveals. That is why the cost of a Special Needs teacher is listed on the Central Office budget line, as CPS teacher Phillip Cantor pointed out.