Taft HS receives Title 1 money for first time in recent memory, but faces loss of 5 teachers, reduction in safety funds

by BRIAN NADIG

Although Taft High School will be receiving Title 1 money for the first time in recent memory, the school’s 2026-27 budget includes a reduction in security funds and an expected loss of five teaching positions.

Taft typically allocates close to $1 million of its discretionary funds to fully fund its 21 security personnel positions, but that figure will be about $1.1 million next fall because the school is losing $145,000 for safety expenses. Only eight of the positions are being funded by the Chicago Public Schools, requiring Taft to supplement its safety budget with about 23 percent of its total discretionary budget.

At the June 2 meeting of the Taft Local School Council, principal Dr. Ryan Glowacz said that schools with significantly lower enrollments than Taft and with much smaller campuses are allocated many more security positions. Taft is one of the five largest high schools in Illinois.

“Taft is a safe school, (but) teenagers are teenagers,” and they will be more likely to get into mischief if they are not adequately supervised, Glowacz said.

At the varsity campus, there are about 600 students during each lunch period in the cafeteria, requiring several safety personnel to supervise, and about 400 students in the cafeteria during each lunch period at the freshman campus, Glowacz said. He added that the safety personnel also help usher students into class when the bell rings and that any public institutional building the size of Taft requires personnel to monitor entrances and other parts of the property.

”Taft High School operates two distinct campuses located two miles apart. Our Freshman Academy is home to nearly 1,200 students, while our Varsity Campus houses over 3,000 students. Our current allotment of eight security guards across both campuses places an unsustainable strain on our discretionary budget. Both of Taft’s campuses are among the largest in the district, encompassing a total of two cafeterias, nine floors, four buildings and close to 40 acres of campus grounds.

“Furthermore, Taft is one of the only schools in the district with a stand-alone stadium and an eight-lane running track. We regularly host numerous citywide events, which places an additional, heavy strain on our security team,” Glowacz wrote in the school’s budget presentation.

“Imagine what we could do if we had that $1.1 million (in discretionary funds) for instructional matériels or student activities” instead of being allocated for security, Glowacz said after the meeting.

LSC student representative Jack Matheis reported that the Taft Student Voice Committee has condemned the CPS decision not to pay for more security positions at Taft.

“(Taft is allocated) one security officer for over 500 students each, while schools a fourth our size have reduced upwards of 10 to 15 security officers.

“CPS has disregarded the safety and security of our students and families, yet they clearly possess the resources to do otherwise,” Matheis read in his report to the council.

Security personnel reportedly are allocated in part on the violent crime statistics in the community surrounding a school.

This methodology is flawed because it seems to be criminalizing students, Matheis said.

Security personnel are primarily assigned with the task of supervision within a school’s walls, a separate issue from outside crime, according to LSC members.

The Chicago Board of Education in 2024 eliminated the use of police officers, commonly referred to as “school resource officers,” in all of its schools. The Taft LSC had been an overall proponent of officers in the school, as former principal Mark Grishaber maintained that they were well trained and would help diffuse situations.

When the officers were dropped, schools were given additional funds to create a “Whole School Safety Plan.” Taft received $260,000, but those funds were cut in half for next school year, and it’s not clear if additional cuts could be in the works for the following year, Glowacz said.

Taft also is facing a reduction from 205 classroom teachers (not including diverse learner instructors) to 200 foundational positions for next school year.

Taft will be receiving one teaching position for every 22 students, compared to one for every 21 students this last school year, as CPS has to deal with its systemwide budget deficit, Glowacz said.

No current teachers are retiring or planning to leave for another school  — a situation Glowacz described as highly unusual.

As a result, it is expected that five teachers will be notified in mid-July that their positions are being eliminated. The central office conducts a budget analysis and chooses those positions.

The school can appeal the cuts after the 20th day of classes, when enrollment figures are considered to be stabilized.

Glowacz also reported that schools are not receiving technology funds, generating concerns about future Chromebook needs.

In the early years of the pandemic schools used COVID funds to buy Chromebooks, but over the next five years, those Chromebooks won’t be serviceable or useable, and new ones will be required, he said.

“The functional lifespan of a Chromebook is 10 years,” Glowacz said.

Currently it would cost $2.43 million to replace all of Taft’s more than 5,400 Chromebooks. The vast majority of won’t be useable by June of 2029, he added.

Taft is setting aside $200,000 to buy some new ones in the upcoming school year.

“All IB exams are going to be digital in the next two years,” he told the LSC. “Every single classroom has a Chrome cart.”

This funding challenge is not unique to Taft, and the school system eventually will have to address it, Glowacz said. The cost of a Chromebook is about $445 but is expected to exceed $500 in a few years, according to LSC members.

Tact did receive one unexpected funding allocation — about $550,000 in Title 1 poverty index funds. Some LSC members said that they’re not sure if Taft has ever received Title I “flexible” funds, which are based in large part on the number of households receiving SNAP/food stamp benefits. About 1,730 Taft students fall into this category — a total similar to previous years.

The methodology used for assigning Title 1 allocations to schools reportedly changed.

Despite current and future budgetary challenges, the budget has been designed with an eye toward preserving “the student experience” at Taft, Glowacz said. The goal is to maintain a wide-ranging curriculum and a full set of extracurricular activities so that students don’t feel the effects of any budget reductions, he explained.

The LSC voted 8-0 to approve the budget.

Faculty LSC representative Scott Plencner said that it is disheartening to see that five of his colleagues could be out of a job due fewer foundational teaching positions being funded by the school system.

Also at the meeting, Matheis reported on a plan to transition the “Student Government” to the “Student Congress,” which would consist of representatives for every student club and organization. It would meet twice per quarter and approve school improvement projects, fundraising initiatives and student-centered ideas.

“The new model is designed to increase student representation, improve communication between student groups and provide students with a more direct role in shaping school policy and initiatives,” the student LSC report said.

It also was reported that the student voice committee met with Glowacz about the possibility of an outdoor lunch option for next school year.

Glowacz has expressed concern that additional security personnel would be needed if students were allowed to eat outdoors in a designated area on school grounds.

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