- James G. Blaine school. Photo from Patch.
James G. Blaine Elementary School in the Lakeview neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side is facing some challenges stemming from steeper budget cuts than they faced last year.
Blaine, 1420 W. Grace St., has between $35,000 —$50,000 less to work with than in the 2013-2014 school year, said Principal Troy LaRaviere during the April 29 LSC meeting. The first draft of the budget is due to the Chicago Public School District by May 9, and the final budget must be approved by May 21.
The school is one of the top performing neighborhood K-8 schools in CPS, with at least 89 percent of its students meeting or exceeding standards, according to LaRaviere. Blaine is a Fine Arts Magnet school, according to the school’s website.
“CPS is a climate and culture that is overwhelmed with standards and testing and necessities,” LaRaviere said. “And now it’s reached the point your goals have to be their testing.
LaRaviere said he is committed to maintaining a culture at Blaine that goes beyond testing, fostering learning and student growth.
Local School Council Chairman Tony Porfirio said he is worried that Blaine won’t be able to maintain high standards if the budget is cut every year.
“The main thing I’m worried about is we’ve become accustomed to running slim,” Porfirio said. “[The budget] looks about the same as last year, and so it didn’t scare us as much, but we have to remember what bare bones that was. We had overcrowded classrooms, we don’t have enough supplies and we’re literally $700,000 to $800,000 short of where we were just a few years ago. It’s a big deficit.”
Chicago Magazine ranked Blaine Elementary NO. 16 in Top Elementary Schools in its October 2010 issue.
Blaine’s newly elected LSC Secretary and Community Representative Kate Bolduc said one problem Blaine is going to face is funding for interventionists, who monitor classrooms to make sure students are learning. Interventionists offer specialized one-on-one lessons to students who have trouble keeping up.
- Marquee at James G. Blaine Elementary in Chicago.
With CPS budget cuts requiring the school to increase class size, Bolduc said