Rahm's budget cuts spark LSC revolt

Arts, foreign-language classes and even recess are among the first programs being shed by principals trying to deal with budget cuts of 10 percent or more. Many of those were added for this school year as part of Emanuel’s promise to make the longer school day that he demanded an improved “Full School Day.” -- Sun-Times columnist Greg Brown

Several Chicago Local School Councils are openly resisting the Mayor's draconian cuts and rejecting their school budgets. A full-scale LSC revolt could take place unless funding is restored.

DNA Info reports that Blaine's council has voted to reject the budget, "with Principal Troy LaRaviere abstaining, a move that was loudly applauded as the community agreed to fight for more money from the system." Expected losses at Blaine include the elimination of art, music and a middle school teacher position, LaRaviere told the group. Non-staffing expenses must be cut by 37 percent.

Reports are coming in that similar actions are being taken by the LSCs at Roosevelt H.S. and Whitney Young, where Principal Kenner has threatened to charge students $500 tuition for taking 7th period class.

Burley students protest cuts

At Burley Elementary, one of the city’s top-scoring neighborhood schools, parents and teachers gathered to protest elimination of all art programming and cuts to English, reading, technology and physical education programs.

“Our mayor talked about a full school day in terms of a broad curriculum,” parent Amy Smolensky said, referring to Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s extended school day that was implemented this year. “With these cuts, the school day is going to be an empty day, not a full day,” Smolensky said. -- Sun-Times

S-T also reports:

Lake View High School principal Lillith Werner told her Local School Council that “CPS put her between a rock and a hard place,” said LSC member Jackie Rosa. “She made it clear that the principals don’t have autonomy,” Rosa said. “They’re given this dismal budget and they’re told to work with it.”

At Lake View, a neighborhood high school in CPS’ top performing Level 1 category, the budget was sliced from $9.2 million to $7.7 million. It will mean no new textbooks and 14 teachers laid off.

Greg Hinz at Crain's:

Some folks, I guess, are just slow learners.I'm referring to the preliminary budgets that CPS sent to hundreds of local schools a couple of weeks ago, budgets that contain lots of bad news that CPS is going out of its way to hide, rather than use it as a rally to urge parents to lean on state lawmakers to come up with more money.

CPS Liar-in-Chief Becky Carroll says that, "the overall impact on schools is minimal.” But by now, nobody's buying anything she says.

How many more reasons do we need to get rid of mayoral control of the schools and this mayor in particular?