Gov. Pat Quinn's cuts to the education budget have touched off a flurry of protests across the state, from a demonstration by students in Chicago to a carefully organized trip to Springfield for Aurora parents. But with everyone clamoring to be heard, who needs the attention most?

"Chicago always has its hands in the cookie jar," said Debbie Sulaski, parent of two students in Aurora's Indian Prairie School District 204. Last Wednesday, Sulaski joined other parents in a Caravan to the Capitol that met with legislators to protest the $1.3 billion in budget cuts.

District 204 has recently laid off 145 of its roughly 2,200 certified staff. Sulaski is concerned that her daughter, who is in special education at Georgetown Elementary School, will no longer get the individual instruction she needs.

In their quest for restored education funding, suburban parents have begun speaking out against what they see as the undue amount of publicity and funds devoted to Chicago Public Schools.

Kevin Killion, founder and director of the advocacy group Illinois Loop, has his own skepticism about CPS. "I wouldn't say they're overfunded, but they're well-funded. It's a very carefully nurtured public image that [Chicago] schools are short on funds," he said.

Parents of Chicago students disagree emphatically. "That's totally off base," says Emily Farr, who has a child in kindergarten at South Loop Elementary School. "They [suburban schools] don't have a classroom size issue."

In March, CPS CEO Ron Huberman announced that elementary and high school class size will rise to 37 students if legislators can't find a way to increase funding. Current CPS statistics give the student-to-teacher ratio across all high schools as roughly 25, and 20 for elementary schools.

An April 8 CPS press release predicts a budget deficit of up to $1 billion, along with "painful programmatic cuts" and the possible layoff of 3,000 of the district's 23,110 teachers.

Quinn signed into law a bill deferring CPS pension payments, saving the district $400 million, but administrators have not yet issued a revised budget or described new budget priorities.

A March 15 budget briefing outlined reductions of $34 million to CPS early childhood education programs and $27 million to bilingual education. Both services are considered essential in communities with high rates of poverty and a high percentage of non-English speakers. Eighty-six percent of CPS students come from low-income families, and 12 percent have limited proficiency in English.

Meanwhile, maximum class size at Aurora's District 204 elementary schools will increase to 31 students. Though the district did not provide specific figures, it said average class size in secondary schools could increase by two. A press release said that part of the district's $12.2 million budget cuts will be achieved by delaying updates to facilities and technology.

District 204 spends $9,222 per pupil in state and local funding, slightly above the state average. CPS spends $11,536.

According to Dr. Norman Durflinger, co-director of Illinois State University's Center for the Study of Education Policy, "it takes more money to educate a student from a lower socioeconomic background." The extra cost comes from preventive and remedial programs designed to help struggling students.

Recent U.S. Census Bureau data shows the three cities served by Indian Prairie School District all have poverty rates of less than 10 percent.

Regardless of these differences, all students stand to lose from the budget cuts. It's an issue that will test both Quinn and state legislators in the coming months.

By Brenna Swift
Medill News Service - Chicago