Parents, educators, students, and community groups called upon Chicago Public Schools to put an end to budget cuts that disproportionately impact low-income students and demanded increased funding for early childhood education in lieu of massive budget allocations for privately operated charter schools. On Wednesday, July 16th, groups gathered outside of Malcolm X College to hold a press conference speaking out about the misguided priorities in the proposed Chicago Public Schools 2015 Fiscal Year budget.

Speakers shined a light on how CPS is once again shortchanging children and communities with a budget that cuts essential resources to neighborhood public schools while increasing the funding for privatized charter schools. While CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett claims the new budget puts “children, families and high-quality instruction first,” the reality is that the proposed budget cuts crucial resources that children need in order to succeed in the classroom while placing a priority on continued privatization. Parents, teachers and community members spoke out both about these deeply misguided priorities and about the desperate need for accessible early childhood education. Instead of diverting additional resources to underperforming charter schools, CPS should fully fund early childhood education, to insure that it is truly accessible for all families.