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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
Vol. 31 No. 40
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October 18, 2017
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NEW MOMS GET NEW DIGS,
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Also serving Garfield Park
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Rev. A R Acree ddecries i racism, page 9
No budget cuts for 11 Austin schools
Despite larger enrollment declines than expected, those schools won’t get less revenue By XUEER ZHANG AustinTalks
More than half of Austin’s public schools had fewer students enroll than expected, but none will see their budgets cut, while other schools that enrolled more students than was projected will get more funding, according to Chicago Public Schools. “We have heard from so many of you that stability for planning is crucial to having the strongest possible school year,” CPS CEO Forrest Claypool told principals in an email last month. “As a result, schools that experienced enrollment declines beyond initial projections will be held harmless this year and continue to operate with the budgets you received in July,” he said in the email. CPS released the adjusted school-by-school budget last week based on the classroom attendance head count taken Sept. 18 – the 10th day of school – noting schools that did not meet the projected enrollment could have lost another $35 million if the district had made the same cuts as last year. The state’s largest school district has already cut $43 million for the 2017-2018 school See AUSTIN SCHOOLS on page 6
ALEXA ROGALS/Staff Photographer
Crossing Austin Blvd.
Austin activist Iesha Oliver-Hollins, left, walks during a march on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017, in Oak Park for high school teacher Anthony Clark, who was suspended after posting to Facebook the photo of a white student in blackface. Clark said he was trying to mitigate the fallout.
New police oversight body reaches out The new Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which replaced IPRA, is seeking community input By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which replaced Independent Police Review Authority as an agency charged with investigating complaints against
Chicago Police Department, is looking to spread the word about what it does and engage the West Side communities directly. Ephraim Eaddy, COPA’s Director of Community Outreach and Engagement and an East Garfield Park native, attended Ald. Jason Ervin’s (28th) Oct. 10 Garfield Park
community meeting at the Golden Dome fieldhouse, 100 N. Central Park. Eaddy said the new agency is reaching out to let residents know what it does and to encourage them to submit complaints and positive comments about the police officers. The agency is planning larger community forums, where residents will be able to meet with COPA investigators and
Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com
See COPA on page 5