CHICAGO – Just days after the Chicago Public School teachers union settled an 11-day strike, the CPS released figures showing they've lost another 6000 students this school year.
The biggest enrollment drop came at district-run elementary schools, which saw enrollment go down 2.3%, or 4,793 kids, the Chicago Sun-Times reports, from 207,032 to 202,239 — "an alarming trend" for the district as fewer families start their young children in the system.
At the same time, Chicago's property taxes, sales taxes, entertainment taxes, gasoline taxes and more make it more and more difficult for young families to live within the city's boundaries.
The downhill enrollment continues. Last year, the school system reported losing 10,000 students.
In two years, 16,000 students left – meaning nearly 1000 less classrooms needed, with nearly 1000 less teachers in demand.
Under the current Chicago union contract, those beginning teachers made a base salary of just over $56,000 a year, while the most senior teachers with extra credentials make $108,242 a year.
As a result of the strike, CPS teachers will get a 16 percent pay raise over five years as well as several other costly concessions. The deal includes a 40 percent pay increase for teaching assistants, $35 million to reduce classroom size, and a perk that increases the amount of unused sick days that can be exchanged for pension credit from 40 to 244 days.
And the city of Chicago is billions of dollars in unpaid pension debt.
Minus 6000 students – and their families – that are no longer in Chicago to help bear the burden.
