School Finance Overview

School Finance Overview

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CPS Financial Scorecard

Each year, CPS rates all charter schools on several key metrics of financial health. Our school’s most recent available scorecard is linked here.

Annual Budget

Our fiscal year runs from July 1st to June 30th the following year. Our most recently audited fiscal year is FY22 where our budget was ~$8.2MM. Our school grew our enrollment the following year, and we anticipate our budget for FY23 to increase accordingly.

Sources of Funding

The pie chart below breaks down the various sources of our revenue. In FY22 approximately 90% of our funding came from public sources via city/state/federal funding, mostly based on per-pupil formulas, as well as our student poverty index. About 10% of our funds are privately raised, with 7% supporting general operating and 3% representing capital contributions to our Building Beacons campaign that supported our $15.5MM campus renovation. We receive minimally significant amounts from student fees and other sources.

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Operating Expenses

The pie chart below shows our operating expenses for FY22.

  • Direct Student Costs include curriculum, classroom supplies, educational materials, uniforms, enrichment opportunities, special events (graduation, prom, etc.), student incentives, and meal services, among others.
  • Personnel Costs are salaries, benefits, payroll taxes, etc. - all costs associated with the teachers and administrators who run the school.
  • Occupancy Costs are the funds it takes to rent and maintain our school buildings.
  • Office Administration Costs include payroll and HR services, accounting and auditing services, printers and copy machines, telecommunications, tech support, and other expenses needed to run school offices and enable staff to do their jobs.
  • Other Costs are primarily the administrative fee that we pay to CPS as well as other fees.

This chart includes our operating expenses for the year and thus does not include capital expenditures. For a more detailed overview of our CapEx budget, you can request a copy of our audit at any time by emailing info@glachicago.org.

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Other information

Our public copy of our 990 and our annual audit report are available upon request. Please email info@glachicago.org and we will send the file(s) to you within 5 business days during the academic year. During school breaks, please allow for more time due to lower staffing levels.