Hit Hard With Cuts, Uptown Elementary Gets Help FromElected Officials

John McCutcheon School, 4865 N. Sheridan Road. View Full Caption

Chicago Public Building Commission

UPTOWN -- After Chicago Public Schools slashed the budget at John T. McCutcheon Elementary bymore than 20 percent, it looked like the Uptown school had no choice but to cut teachers andcombine different grades into one classroom, according to Ald. James Cappleman (46th).

Of the affected Uptown schools, McCutcheon, 4865 N. Sheridan Road, was hit the hardest. Facing a27-pupil drop, the school stood to lose $611,150, a 20.6 percent decrease from last year, accordingto CPS data.

But through Cappleman, whose ward includes the school, as well as state Rep. Greg Harris (D-Chicago), the school was able to recover $250,000.

"Principal [Jenn] Farrell notified me that as a result of my push and the push from state Rep. GregHarris, $250,000 of their $611,150 cut was restored. This means that they will not have to lay offthree teachers and combine classrooms," Cappleman said in an email to constituents.

Cappleman admitted that "there is more work to do" despite the victory.

According to parent Reshunda Odom, McCutcheon "already didn't have much" prior to the cuts. Shesaid a security officer and a couple of other teachers also serve as sports coaches, and the schooldoesn't have its own gym -- it uses the one at the neighboring Pederson-McCormick Boys & GirlsClub, 4835 N. Sheridan Road.

"They receive a lot of shelter kids. Sometimes they have to supply them with book bags, uniforms.And every nickel, penny and dime helps," said Odom, a lifelong Uptown resident whose daughter willbe a seventh-grader at McCutcheon this coming school year.

She fears that the cuts mean a lot more parents and faculty will have to volunteer their time toprevent more programs from being slashed -- not just at McCutcheon, but at the other neighborhoodschools in Uptown as well.

Odom also has two sons, one who just graduated from Uplift Community High School, 900 W. WilsonAve., and another who is going to be a freshman there in the fall. She serves on the Local SchoolCouncil at the high school, which is expecting a 32-pupil drop and will lose $91,348 this school year,according to the CPS data. That's a 4.25 percent decrease from last year.

She said Uplift will lose an art teacher and will not be able to hire a full-time boys basketball coachas a result of the cuts. That means the dean of students, David Taylor, will continue to coach theboys basketball team.

Despite juggling two roles, Taylor has had a lot of success, leading his team to a class 2A statechampionship last year. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"[Uplift] can't even get a full-time basketball coach, whereas some schools have three orfour coaches for one activity," she said. "I'm speechless."

The cuts, she said, are also preventing the Local School Council from pursuing some ideas, such aspartnering with nearby Harry S. Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave.

"Because of the lack of money, we're unable to take it to another level. [Truman] is right down thestreet. We can't move ahead because we're robbing Peter to pay Paul," Odom said.

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:

http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20150728/uptown/hit-hard-with-cuts-uptown-elementary-gets-help-from-elected-officials