(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Teachers and supporters of a Little Village neighborhood elementary school protested Tuesday over planned cuts that could mean a loss of several teachers there in the fall.
Zapata Academy is slated to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars next year. Bilingual fourth grade teacher Jacquelina Salgado said that will mean eight or nine fewer teachers.
"In my own classroom, I am projected to have 30 distinctly unique little human beings in front of me, instead of the 20 that I have this year," she said at an early morning news conference outside the school on 27th and Kostner.
System-wide, Chicago Teachers Union organizer Linda Perales said, CPS is sitting on nearly $1.5 billion in unspent federal COVD money.
"Lori Lightfoot. Enough is enough. Fund our schools," she said.
Teacher Juan Sanchez is also the parent of a Zapata student and predicts students will suffer.
"The reality is that this proposed budget is dangerous to students. It's unethical to taxpayers it represents and, ultimately, it's unnecessary," Sanchez said.
22nd Ward Ald. Michael Rodriguez said Zapata will suffer the biggest budget cuts, of all the elementary schools in his ward.
"Yes, we have enrolment decreases driven by population loss here, but we also have equity needs in our community," he said.
Henry Granados, the technology coordinator at Pulaski School, said he is upset that during the pandemic CPS told the tech coordinators they were "essential workers."
"Now that all these budget cuts are coming, we're not essential anymore. They're beginning to cut our positions one by one by privatizing our jobs," he added.
The Chicago Public Schools system said cuts are related to decreases in enrolment, with Zapata Academy losing 10% of its 2020 enrolment.
CPS said nearly 90% of city schools are seeing an increase in per-pupil funding.
