Hundreds of students could lose support due to CPS, Chicago Archdiocese federal funding issue

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Some Chicago parents found out this week about a big change in their child's school instruction. There is an issue with funding involving Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Archdiocese.

It's unclear whose fault it is, but more than 800 Chicago students are about to lose their tutors for special instruction because of a lack of federal funding.

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Everyone in the Javi Perez's family goes to Catholic school The 5-year-old, who's been diagnosed with autism, gets tutoring from several specialists at his school. That academic support is paid for with federal funds.

"It not only gives him a chance to be a part of his regular class, but also means he's getting the extra support he needs," his mother Kinberlyn Esparza Perez said.

The family found out earlier this week. However, that funding has run out for the program, and starting Monday, Javi will have no more tutoring this year. Javi and his siblings have all attended Saint Ann school in Pilsen.

While the funding for the instructional support services comes from the federal government, it is administered by Chicago Public Schools.

"We don't run the program. We don't receive the funds for the program," Archdiocese school superintendent Greg Richmond said. "We try to stay in touch with CPS to be helpful and know what's going on."

Richmond says the cost for the program for the two months until the end of the school year is about $1.2 million. It affects 833 students who will lose their special instruction.

The Archdiocese says CPS is singling them out by cutting their funding, but not other private schools. But CPS says in a statement that it is the archdiocese that has overspent the funds budgeted for the program.

In a statement CPS sas, "Throughout the current fiscal year, District officials repeatedly alerted Catholic school administrators that their spending trajectory was outpacing the funding allocation; they were on track to exhaust their allocated share of federal funds before the end of the school year."

"They told us March 25," Richmond said. "The services would continue through the end of the year. And then out of the blue we were told they were ending today."

Meanwhile, Kinberlyn says the tutoring makes it possible for Javi to be in a regular classroom. She says now going to be difficult for her son to finish the school year.

"I believe it's going to have a big impact on his learning, his behavior. So it's very concerning," she said.

Archdiocese officials say they are prepared to do what they need to do to try to restore funding, and if necessary, that means going to court.