CPS restores $24M in funding as alderpersons grill officials over cuts

Demonstrators protest outside the Chicago Public Schools headquarters late last month, where parents of CPS students, organizers and their supporters rallied against budget cuts and demanded that CPS use federal funding. (Pat Nabong/Sun-Times)

After weeks of outcry over apparent budget cuts at Chicago Public Schools, district officials said they were restoring some funding for next year but they were still grilled on the matter by alderpersons at a City Council hearing Thursday.

The school system is distributing $14 million more in special education funding than originally planned along with $10 million more for general education, according to data provided to the Sun-Times — though officials say the new money was given out through a regular yearly process and not in response to criticism. The district also put dollar figures behind some previously announced initiatives, including $45 million for improved teacher training.