Steve Rhodes tries to understand how
the Chicago Public Schools claims $600 million in cuts to “central office.”
Rhodes says the claims defy both mathematics and physics.
In fact, the cuts are not cuts, and “central office” does not mean central office.
He writes:
“But this is CPS make-believe land, which is a quasi-quantum place where the rules of earthbound mathematics do not apply.
“[T]he entire central office budget for the current 2012-2013 fiscal year is just $233 million, up from about $200 million in 2010,” Karp reports.
“How do you cut $600 million from $200 million? Just make the claim 400 million times!
“But it turns out Central Office spending is actually up $33 million since 2010.
“Now, CPS claims it has cut $600 million from the Central Office since 2011, so maybe in between 2010 and 2011 the budget went up by $633 million. That’s the only way CPS’s claim can be true.
“But the story gets even more extraordinary.
“The biggest addition since that time was the Office of Portfolio, created in 2011 to authorize and manage new schools.
“The portfolio office went from an initial budget of $5 million to $88 million in 2013, and has now been incorporated into a new Office of Innovation.”
“How is an increase in Central Office spending a cut in Central Office spending? By redefining the terms!”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
There are a lot of people addressing “accountability” issues as administrators, instructional officers, coaches and mentors who are working in many Area Offices around town, which are now called Network Offices. There were 24 Area Offices until 2011, when Brizard cut them to 18, renamed them, cut some positions and changed some job titles. I’m guessing that additional cuts may have been made there. (I used to work out of some of those offices as a coach.) http://www.cps.edu/About_CPS/The_Board_of_Education/Documents/Sept2011BoardMeeting.pdf
On the other hand, the growth of the following positions and offices may balance out whatever was previously cut at Area/Network Offices: http://www.cps.edu/News/Press_releases/Pages/12_19_2012_PR2.aspx
At any rate, whenever they talk about Central Office, try to find out what’s going on at all of the other offices, too, because there are many people employed there.
That’s always what the deformers do. They say they have cut the central office but the growth in administration other places is astounding. For instance, we went from high schools with one principal to high schools with up to 7 or 8 different principals. They explain it by carving up the individual school into 7 or 8 separate entities of about 300-500 students. Is it effective? Heck no. This eats up budgets more than anything and then the schools have to be reconsolidated. This is a really, really stupid idea and it kills school electives, school pride. What do you call yourself? So many names no one can remember. Sad
“…we went from high schools with one principal to high schools with up to 7 or 8 different principals” …”This is a really, really stupid idea”
Wow. Unbelievably stupid. That was yet another Bill Gates drive-by: http://www.hceaproud.com/uploads/6/9/3/2/6932721/8732270_orig.jpg
Now he’s telling colleges what to do. Wish we could sue him for harassment, just so he’ll mind his own business and stop inflicting his dilettante notions on educators and students.
Gates should spend his free time fixing Windows 8 instead of sticking his nose into schools.
From your mouth to Bill’s ears. But he’s basically got a monopoly on the Operating System supplied with virtually all PCs, so he must think that means he’s allowed to be a totalitarian ruler who doesn’t have to listen to or appease anyone.
At the risk of eliciting Godwin’s Law, one of the main reasons why Hitler ultimately lost the war was because he paid attention only to his hunches and his “yes” men and refused to listen to genuine experts, like his much more knowledgeable and experienced generals.
“redefining the terms” is the same way that Paul Vallas and Paul Pstorek claim to have “amazingly” decreased Louisiana’s dropout rate (one report credits Vallas with a decrease of 50%). The term “dropout” was redefined to exclude students who did indeed drop out of high school but who were taking classes in adult ed programs.
http://www.thepelicanpost.org/2011/04/11/louisiana-dropout-rate-falls-31-percent/
Argh…Oh my!
Typical Chicago Math!
Everyday!
Since 2008, CPS has claimed $1.3 BILLION in central office budget cuts. That’s based on an annual budget of somewhere between $5 billion and $6 billion.
To think of it another way, CPS has lowered total budget expenses at least 22% by making cuts to central office. Central office accounts for only about 5% of the overall CPS budget.
Or, think of it like this: in the last six years CPS has completely eliminated central office 5 times over.
Still, according to CPS, “The General Operating Fund ended FY2012 with a surplus of $328 million, which compared favorably with the budgeted deficit of $241 million.” Amazing!
The rough numbers I came up with are based on a quick and dirty review of CPS budgets, press releases, and mainstream news media reports.
FY2013: $600M
FY2012: $107M
FY2011: $161M
FY2010: $100M
FY2009: $90M
FY2008: $114M
It was only six years ago the Board of Education said this in the FY2007 final budget report: “CPS ended last fiscal year in strong financial condition, with revenues moderately higher and expenditures less than budgeted.”
Oh, wait. That’s not old news. CPS finished the most recent school year with a surplus of $344 million. And then closed 50 schools and laid off thousands of teachers because they couldn’t afford them.