CPS budget proposal with teacher layoffs renews debate over keeping under-enrolled schools open

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Proposed cuts, furloughs and a spending freeze are part of Chicago Public Schools' budget plan as the district works to balance its finances, but the proposal does not include school closures because of an ongoing moratorium.

The issue has renewed debate over the cost of keeping severely under-enrolled schools open, including Frederick Douglass High School on the city's West Side.

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The school, which can hold about 900 students, now has around 30 students enrolled. School Board member Jitu Brown said Douglass was once a thriving middle school with enrollment of about 600 students. Brown, who ran a youth leadership program at the school, recalled its past success.

"We took children from this school to the United Nations. We took them to the Passamaquoddy Native American Reservation in Maine. We took them on college; it was a vibrant successful middle school," Brown said.

Brown attributed the school's declining enrollment to past school closure decisions by former mayors and what he described as inadequate state funding for CPS.

"I call that manufactured misery, right? State-sponsored sabotage, whatever you want to call it," Brown said.

Douglass is not the only CPS school facing low enrollment as the district contends with population loss. Civic Federation President Joe Ferguson said declining enrollment in large urban school districts is part of a broader national demographic trend.

Ferguson argued that keeping schools such as Douglass open is financially unsustainable.

SEE ALSO: Chicago School Board members split on CPS budget proposal that includes teacher layoffs, furloughs

"It's costing CPS about $94-95,000 a year per student at this school," Ferguson said.

According to Ferguson, the average cost per CPS student is typically about $18,000. He also noted that the Chicago Teachers Union contract requires certain staffing levels regardless of enrollment.

"We're talking about 30 students. We're talking about 30 full-time employees for a student-teacher ratio of one-to-one," Ferguson said.

As CPS seeks to balance its budget through cuts, furloughs and a spending freeze, the proposal has drawn opposition from the Chicago Teachers Union, Brown and Mayor Brandon Johnson. They also oppose school closures.

Johnson pointed to Dyett High School as an example of a school that recovered after facing low enrollment.

"Dyett High School had 13 students, and now that's a thriving neighborhood school. So what's required here is that we actually have to invest in our students. We have to invest in our communities," Johnson said.

CPS is asking the school board to vote on the budget by July 30. The district has said that without approval, it will be unable to make payroll in August.