The Story Of One CPS Principal Amid Budget Mess: 'You Have To Be A Wartime General'
(CBS) -- If you think being a Chicago Public Schools parent is difficult right now, imagine being a principal. A near-record number are leaving CPS.
Those who are staying are faced with massive budget challenges.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov gives us one principal's perspective.
It's that time of year for Amundsen High School Principal Anna Pavichevich and her staff: budget time.
To call budget talks tough would be an understatement.
"It's awful," she says of the stress level.
As of now, Pavichevich must cut 24 percent of her budget -- about $1.9 million – if CPS's funding crisis isn't resolved.
Pavichevich is riding out the storm. "It's not enough to be a peacetime general. You have to be a wartime general," she says.
But 54 CPS principals, more than 10 percent, are jumping ship. This includes top staffers at Lakeview, Lane Tech and Schurz high schools.
Pavichevish says reasons for their exit are varied; the budget mess is not solely to blame.
"It's not helping," she concedes.
She blames Springfield for this crisis and dreads the inevitable layoffs. Yet her optimism remains.
"If enough of us stay and show strong and stable leadership, we are going to come through this," she says.
Principal Pavichevich is quick to point out that 300 people went through the principal eligibility process this year in hopes of one day leading a CPS school.
