Malcolm X budget hearing on July 16, 2014 shows the arrogance of CPS executives in the face of real problems articulated despite the two-minute time limit by taxpayers and the community
It was obvious that people were angry at the same old same old reports given by the Board of Education and Tim Cwaley, who anchored the administrators' table in the front of the room during the budget hearings at Malcolm X College on July 16, 2014. Cawley became "Chief Administrative Officer" of the nation's third largest school system in May 2011. Cawley landed his position at CPS after a career in education that began as an executive at Motorola and then saw him in the executive leadership at the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL). Then Rahm Emanuel had him appointed to what amounts to the second most powerful position in Chicago Public Schools.
Chicago Public Schools "Chief Administrative Officer" Tim Cawley, above far right, tried to answer most of the questions and challenges that were raised during the July 16 budget hearing at Malcolm X College. The others at the table were quickly identified once, but failed to provide a name plate or indicator of their positions and sat silently for most of the event. Substance photo by Jean Schwab.The Malcolm X hearings, began at 6:00 p.m. This year's budget hearings were held simultaneously at three locations -- Malcolm X, Wright College, and Kennedy King College. That scheduling guaranteed that people who had questions, criticisms or challenges to the budget could only attend one of the hearings. CPS deployed its highly paid administrative staff across the city so that they could sit in the front while members of the "public" got two minutes each to present their problems, questions, or criticisms. A large platoon of security people was arrayed at the hearing to prevent anyone from going beyond the two-minute time limit.
Cawley tried to answer questions, which was different from some of the previous years. Then, CPS officials simply took notes and intoned "We'll get back to you on that" (and then never did). But even with Cawley offering "answers," most observers felt is was the same stuff -- year after year.
The approximately 100 people who showed up at Malcolm X were tired of the excuses and inaction; the community was pissed.
The CPS panel, whoever they were, was listening, not sleeping, texting or reading the paper as in the past -- and as most of them do during the monthly meetings of the Board of Education. An improvement? But... None of them had a name plate on the table in front of them, so most people didn't know who they were talking to after the initial introductions.
What were the issues regarding the huge $6 billion annual budget of America's third largest public school system? Dozens.
People were upset because more money was being cut from neighborhood schools and put into the further expansion of charter schools. This caused special anger after CPS closed 50 real public schools one year earlier. One year after the Board voted on May 22, 2013 to close 50 of the city's real public schools, the Board's proposed budget was expanding money for charter schools (again), this time by more than $60 million.
People were also upset that the Board of Education was wasting money on expansions and improvements for schools that only serve the wealthiest families and communities in Chicago, while the massive neglect across the city has become a national scandal. The mayor himself had announced the addition to Walter Payton High School and the building, less than a mile from Payton, of the new selective enrollment "Barack Obama High School." But that was only part of the problem.
Some of the affluent families were protesting against the inequities. At least seven community members and parents from the Lincoln Park community disagreed that $20 million should be spent for an annex for Lincoln Elementary School. The Lincoln Elementary community stated, �We don�t need or want an annex at Lincoln Elementary. The $20 million should be spent for schools that really need the money. Can�t you move the boundaries?� It turns out that the so-called "overcrowding" at Lincoln Elementary only exists if you ignore the fact that adjacent schools have extra seats. A small adjustment to the boundaries of Lincoln fixes the "overcrowding" problem without spending all that money.
People were also upset because the mayor has been claiming that the school system is expanding early childhood education when the fact was that a close reading of the budget showed that Rahm Emanuel's "team" was really cutting seats in pre-k.
Claudia, parent of a Roosevelt High student stated, �The school doesn�t have books, so they use pounds of worksheets." She told the hearing that her son lost his worksheets and is very discouraged because the school is on "probation," and he is afraid it will be closed. "Please don�t cut funds,� she said. Cawley stated that �Roosevelt should have plenty of funds for books..." He said that he will "look into it.�
A student spoke next and stated some figures about the costs of incarceration versus the cost of schools, noting that incarceration costs more than education. She said that we spent too much keeping people in jail and not enough on keeping people in school. She also criticized the fact that a great deal of extra money is going to charter schools from neighborhood schools. How many kids are being pushed out of their schools because funds are being pushed out, she asked.
A student at Roosevelt High charged that �for several years they were reducing our funds. My school lost $1 million this year. My junior year my counselor lost my service hours paperwork. She apologized saying my paperwork was buried in a pile of 100 other papers. I felt bad but realized that we need more counselors.�
Despite the fact that the Board of Education refused to provide anyone with printed copies of the proposed budget, as it had for more than a century until Rahm Emanuel became mayor, people had gone to the Board's website and located some of the numbers. In order to have a complete "budget" a person would need both a powerful computer and a high-speed printer, but people did their best.
Ms. Walters, who identified herself as a public school teacher, said �Balance the $72 million cut! Do you think we don�t know what you are doing? $20 million given out to privatizes? Listen Chicago, We have to stop letting others define our worthiness. What does a proper man do when he gains the world but looses his soul?�
Jonathan Jackson, Operation PUSH and a CPS parent, was angry. "This fiscal arrangement is outrageous!" he thundered. "So now we are in 2014 getting revenue from 2016. Last year 50 schools were closed impacting 54,000 students. My child is a student at a closed school. Have you studied the impact on jobs? There was a study of the impact on jobs, schools, and communities..."
Jackson noted Cawley's conflicts of interest: "I don�t know how you get away with working with AUSL, with [David] Vitale [currently president of the school board]," he said, noting that both Cawley and the President of the Board had been with AUSL, and then AUSL gets no-bid contracts for "turnaround."
"I used to be a special needs student and had speech therapy in school," he continued, noting that most speech therapists and others who do those jobs in the city's public schools have been cut. "And now we have libraries without librarians! Schools used to provide these services. I want you to take that $20 million that Lincoln Elementary does not want and put it in our schools."
Cawley tried to answer and explain how money from the next fiscal year's budget would wind up in this year's and nothing would be lost. Jackson has an MBA and worked for years in Wall Street. He stood there while Cawley explained the situation using the Board's talking points... "...July 2016 modified gap revenue. It is a recognized practice July �August 2015 revenue... " etc. etc.
April Drake thundered against the use of TIF dollars for private projects -- �That is a conflict of interest. $1 million dollars to DePaul!� she said, citing the mayor's plan to subsidize the construction of the new DePaul university center at McCormick Place.
Norene Gutekanst, who is on the Chicago Teachers Union staff, challenged the Board's claim that it was expanding "early childhood education.
"There are 300 fewer seats for early childhood pre-K.," she said. "There will be fewer students admitted. Right now, they go to school two hours and 40 minutes. This is not accessible to parents who work; we need full-day programs. The centralized enrollment system makes parents travel to one location to enroll in their school at another location. People are now paying for early childhood services. This makes it more difficult to enroll children in pre- school..."
Gutekanst also managed to challenge the Board's budgeting to expand charter schools by more than $60 million in the coming year. Noting that the FBI is investigating the Concept Charter School (which CPS is expanding), she said, "We are now expanding charter schools. Concept Charter School is now being investigated; why are we expanding it?"
She looked at Cawley and the others and told them:
Here is some suggestions for fixing the budget problem.
--- A graduated income tax
-- A Transactions Tax on LaSalle St. financial transactions.
-- CPS should be demanding that all TIF money go to the schools.
She also said that CPS should work with banks on swaps to recover the money it's costing CPS because of bad bets called "swaps" during the Arne Duncan years.
"We are working on it,� Cawley said.
Anna, a community organizer from Austin, said "We will all vote in 2015", echoing the promise from across the city that people will be voting Rahm Emanuel out of office in a year.
