Claypool on SpEd cuts: The 'formula' done it.

The great thing about Rahm's hand-picked chosen few who run the school system is, they can do no wrong -- unless they are caught, that is. Accountability is a one-way street, a word reserved for CPS' beleaguered teachers.

Case in point: In the face of mounting parent protest and appeals by principals, Forrest Claypool now says he's restoring nearly 150 lost special education positions system wide. And how did those positions get lost in the first place? It was "the formula", says Claypool. The formula done it.

Writes S-T's Lauren Fitzpatrick:

CPS said it based special ed positions on a “flawed funding formula” in late September and since has corrected the errors to make sure every child with an Individualized Education Program gets the services guaranteed to them under federal law. Following vociferous complaints from teachers and parents about shortages and cuts made for the first time ever after school began, CPS agreed to hear appeals and has begun notifying schools of the changes, the district announced Wednesday.

Of course, the 150 restored positions are just a small part of Claypool's announced $42 million in SpEd cuts for district-operated (not charter) schools, and 5,000 teacher cuts overall, set for February. And a question now is, how are you going to find 150 available teachers at this point in the school year?

But it's still amazing, the way parent/teacher protest can correct a "flawed" formula. Isn't it? I think it was Frederick Douglass who said: "No struggle, no progress."