For Some Parents, Moving Away From Troubled Chicago School System May Be Only Option
(CBS) -- As lawmakers struggle with a budget, Chicago Public Schools officials are threatening another round of massive cuts. That means the loss of teachers – and, as CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker reports, the potential loss of parents fed up with the system.
Lisa Guiterrez and her family have lived in Roscoe Village for 15 years.
"We are looking at River Forest, Oak Park area," she says.
Her son Carlos attends Coonley grade school. Daughter Georgia goes to Jahn.
"CPS is very stressful," Guiterrez says.
She knows better than most parents. She's on the Local School Council at Jahn and the past president of Coonley's fundraising group, helping to raise more than $1 million in the last ten years. She says the latest round of budget cuts means Coonley could lose $1.5 million this summer.
"That could be 15 teachers," Guiterrez says. "At some point you say how much more do we have to do, and is it worth it?"
Michael Aguayo is cautiously optimistic.
"I believe they'll be able to endure this challenge," he says.
Nearly 400,000 children attend CPS school today. The district's latest enrollment figures between 2011 and 2015 show they lost 6,000 students.
Guiterrez says the district should expect another decline.
Summer is typically the time of year when parents make the decision to remain in the city or move.
School is out June 21. If there's no funding from the state, principals will be expected to make cuts by August.
