Access Living Budget analysis for 2015 - 2016 released... '...�one has to go back to the fiscal crisis of CPS running from 1972 leading up to the district�s complete collapse in December 1979 to enter a period comparable to the present reality of CPS...'
Once again, Access Living has analyzed the CPS budget.[Editor's Note: The following analysis of the Chicago Public Schools budget for the 2015 - 2016 school year ("Fiscal Year 2016", FY16) is reprinted here. The analysis, available in PDF format, is 23 pages long. Copies of the Access Living budget analyses going back a decade are available. This is printed here with permission of Access Living. Access Living is joining the "Peoples Board of Education" meeting on August 26, 2015 at nine in the morning at the Board's headquarters. George N. Schmidt, Editor, Substance].
ACCESS LIVING PRESS RELEASE BELOW HERE:
Access Living releases analysis of CPS FY 2016 Budget
For Immediate Release: Contact:, August 24, 2015 Gary Arnold, Access Living, 312-640-2199 voice, garnold@accessliving.org
Chicago � Access Living announces the release of the FY 2016 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) Budget Review.
In conjunction with the start of each school year, Access Living publishes a review of the CPS Budget, specifically as it relates to special education funding and students with disabilities. The publication reviews the CPS Budget, analyzes the impact on special education and students with disabilities, and makes a series of recommendations.
The recommendations cover fiscal options, special education hiring staffing, and data at Charter Schools. The report is authored by Access Living Education Policy Analyst Rodney Estvan.
On Wednesday, August 26, Estvan is scheduled to testify at the Chicago School Board Meeting, where he will speak about the Budget Review. A significant portion of the FY 2016 Budget Review is devoted to the CPS fiscal problems. According to the report, �one has to go back to the fiscal crisis of CPS running from 1972 leading up to the district�s complete collapse in December 1979 to enter a period comparable to the present reality of CPS, (p. 23).�
The Budget Review goes into detail on CPS financing because, �they are driving the cuts to special education, (p. 3).� The CPS FY 2016 Budget includes $42.3 million in special education services. The Budget Review projects how those cuts break down at a number of schools. Two examples include Beard Elementary, one of 11 CPS Specialty Schools, at which Special Education Teaching Staff will be cut by nearly 40% in FY 2016 while expecting a 5% enrollment increase.
The Budget Review also mentions Vaughn, another Specialty School, which is slated for Special Education Staff cuts of 38%. In the report, Estvan details the CPS history of cutting then rehiring special education positions, sometimes later in the same year. Estvan notes that CPS cutting staff �will do nothing to improve the reading skills of students with disabilities.�
Meanwhile, attempts to fill special education service gaps later in the year, �makes high quality recruitment extremely difficult, (p. 4).� As of 2013, less than 50% of CPS Schools were physically accessible. Though less than 50% of all schools, more than 100 CPS were made accessible between 2006 and 2013. Estvan writes in the Budget Review that �Historically, Access Living has been supportive of CPS efforts to make schools accessible.� But in FY 2016, the budget for district wide accommodations and accessibility requirement is only $150,000.
Access Living's Rodney Estvan testified at the CPS budget hearing at Schurz High School on August 18, 2015. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.�CPS has made a dramatic, and we believe short sighted, decision to largely end its efforts in this area,� Estvan writes.
The report, available for download on the Access Living website.
Established in 1980, Access Living is a non-profit, Chicago-based disability rights and service organization that provides individualized, peer-based services for people with disabilities. With a strong influence in public policy and social reform, Access Living is committed to challenging stereotypes, protecting civil rights and breaking institutional and community barriers. For more information, contact Gary Arnold at 312-640-2199(voice), 312-640-2102(TTY).
###
Gary M. Arnold
Public Affairs Manager
Access Living
115 West Chicago Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60654
312-640-2199
www.accessliving.org
