The Chicago Board of Education has unanimously passed a $75 million budget for its coronavirus response, granting top district officials the authority to spend at will and report back later.
Even as board President Miguel del Valle noted that doesn’t mean Chicago Public Schools will spend the full amount, which is a “not-to-exceed” measure valid through the end of June, district leaders warned that the pandemic could affect schools for longer than that.
“Once this is over, we need to be able to hit the ground running,” CPS CEO Janice Jackson said, “whether that’s a few weeks from now, a few months from now, next school year.”
In the meantime, the board is giving the district the flexibility to spend money quickly on measures ranging from boosting pay for essential workers — like those preparing meals for students who rely on school food — to buying necessities such as cleaning supplies and remote-learning tools.
Officials said they plan to see what they get in federal and state aid, then figure out how to cover the rest.
“It’s not like we have this $75 million slush find sitting there,” board member Lucino Sotelo said. “We still have to find a way to make this work, which will force us to make some tough decisions later on.”
Calling the measure “a blank check,” the Chicago Teachers Union insisted the money be used to further ensure equity among CPS’ 355,000 students.
Among its demands: a computer device for each student who needs access while schools are shut, immediate housing for students experiencing homelessness, more support for special education students and increased staffing, including social-emotional support. Union leaders also want a nurse in every school immediately rather than over the life of their five-year contract, a provision they won during their 11-day strike in October.
“Our school communities must have the right to recover, and CPS’ proposed $75 million in COVID-19-related expenditures must speak to those needs and the broad equity demands we won for students and families in our contract,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said in a statement.
The union is ready to work alongside CPS to advance equity and meet students’ needs, Sharkey said at the meeting. He also said the board should push companies to “fast-track the manufacture and provision of computer devices for every student in every school.”
Most children who attend the district’s schools come from low-income households, and some don’t have access to stable internet or a computer at home. Chief Education Officer LaTanya McDade vowed the district would do all it could to “bridge the digital divide.” That includes buying computers that could be used by students who don’t have them, though Jackson said they’re also trying to get lawmakers, philanthropists and companies to help.
McDade said leadership will soon update teachers and network staff on how the district will continue remote learning, also noting the Illinois State Board of Education is preparing guidance for districts within the state. CPS is planning to provide all of its schools with expectations, guidance, resources and support that will be in line with ISBE’s recommendations, she said.
Sotelo said he has full faith in CPS leaders and wants them to be able to delegate with confidence, but it will take a lot more than available resources.
“We are not going to address the total digital divide in weeks,” Sotelo said. “There is a reason why we had a five-year plan. So I also want to make sure we put this in context, because while we prioritize where the greater needs are, by the way, that was already in the works. We were already planning to do so, we already had inventory available, we already had inventory we were going to repurpose … to make sure the people that need those resources get it.”
Appealing to people watching the meeting remotely, Sotelo asked for community members who wanted to help to do so in collaboration with the district, because CPS can’t do it alone. “The resources are finite, the finances are finite,” Sotelo said.
Already, the district’s COVID-19 support center has responded to more than 4,700 phone calls and emails, and enrichment learning materials posted on its website have been accessed 11,000 times, McDade said. Thousands of meals have also been given out at schools, which are offering the service between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. daily. Meals have also been delivered to families that don’t have the ability to pick them up, and such delivery will continue to be covered by the district, Jackson said.
The board is also freezing debt collection, and won’t default “anyone who fails to pay any monies that are owed and will not initiate any new collections” as long as the current emergency endures, board member Elizabeth Todd-Breland said.
CPS General Counsel Joe Moriarty confirmed the district has notified its attorneys and collections firms to not open any new collections and cease all activity that would default anyone.
During the public comment period, limited to 15 speakers, those concerned about other topics nodded to the pandemic before proceeding with their own asks.
About one-third of the speakers, including several parents and a teacher, called in regarding Lincoln Park High School and are still seeking answers about a recent leadership shake-up. Parents don’t want issues at their school “swept under the rug or forgotten about because we are in a pandemic,” said one, Rich Lenkov.
Chicago Ald. Nick Sposato, 38th, also spoke, reminding the board that he hasn’t forgotten about last month’s move to drop Columbus Day in favor of Indigenous Peoples Day on the school district’s calendar.
“Right now, there is nothing more important than the COVID-19 virus and the health and the well-being of the residents of the city of Chicago and the schoolchildren of Chicago Public Schools,” Sposato said, reading a statement on behalf of a handful of other aldermen and the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans’ Columbus Day Coalition.
“While we stand together to fight this pandemic, our coalition remains strong and steadfast to reverse the Chicago Board of Education’s decision to usurp Columbus Day. At an appropriate time, we respectfully request a response to the letter we submitted to the board on March the 4th.”
The group “looks forward” to CPS celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day on the last Monday of September and returning Columbus Day to the second Monday of October, Sposato said.
hleone@chicagotribue.com
