Introduction to the Crisis
The Board of Education is required to pass a balanced budget by Aug. 28. CPS leaders in June pegged the budget deficit at an eye-popping $734 million. By mid-summer, they had whittled that down to $569 million through cuts and layoffs. Follow along here to see how CPS closes that gap and to learn how the district got here.
Pavlyn Jankov, a researcher with the Chicago Teachers Union, speaks before a Chicago Board of Education meeting in July about the CPS budget deficit.
Understanding the Budget Deficit
CPS has long had a structural deficit caused by state underfunding. That’s exacerbated now by several big challenges: the end of federal pandemic relief money, which the district used for a hiring spree over several years; rising transportation and building maintenance costs; expensive annual debt and pension payments.
The Need for Increased Funding
New state calculations show that CPS has only 73% of the funding it needs to give students what it deems an “adequate” education. That’s a drop from 79% last year — one of 300 underfunded Illinois districts that saw its percentage drop. The formula defines an adequate education based on things like how many low-income and special needs students a district has, and also what research says about class size and the right number of guidance counselors.
Plans to Close the Deficit
District leaders so far have laid off custodians, lunchroom workers, crossing guards and central office employees and nipped and cut where they could. Where do they go from here? There aren’t many choices, but they include borrowing, staff furloughs and banking on new funds that may or may not materialize.
Macquline King was tapped as CPS interim superintendent/CEO in June. After hearing proposed budget solutions from parents, teachers and community members at meetings in July, King warned: “There are no easy answers here, and it’s clear that there are difficult decisions that will need to be made.”
Recent Cuts and Their Impact
Throughout July, school district leaders picked away at the deficit, trimming a total of $165 million. Late in the month, came the latest: They announced plans to save $40 million by ending all outsourced custodial work and cutting about 500 workers who clean schools. About 1,250 custodians, all employed by private companies, received layoff notices. CPS said it plans to rehire 750 as district staff to work alongside other in-house custodians.
Chicago Public Schools says providing crossing guards for private schools is outside its core mission. And as July wore on, district officials looked for savings wherever they could find them. But the move, which was part of $165 million in cuts, did not sit well with Ald. Matt O’Shea, whose Far Southwest Side 19th Ward is home to several Catholic elementary schools losing crossing guards at their intersections. “Every taxpayer in the city of Chicago who has a child attending a school — I don’t care if it is public, if it’s private or if it’s a charter school … every single child should be able to walk to school safely,” O’Shea said.
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