Add news
News Every Day |

What to know about the CPS School Board resignations and the fallout

The Chicago Board of Education was turned upside down over the last week.

The board resigned Oct. 4 and, a few days later, Mayor Brandon Johnson named new board members. Here's a rundown.

Why are the seven members of Chicago’s School Board resigning?

The ordeal stems from disagreements over how to address an expected $300 million financial shortfall at Chicago Public Schools.

The mayor, the board, the Chicago Teachers Union and embattled CPS Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez have weighed in.

Johnson pushed CPS to take a short-term, high-interest loan to support this year's budget. That would help pay for rising expenses and for a pension payment for non-teacher CPS staff.

The board agreed with Martinez over the summer that a loan wasn’t a solution. They also refused to take on the pension payment.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s picks for the Chicago Board of Education, from left to right: Frank Niles Thomas, Mary Gardner, Deborah Pope, Michilla Blaise, Rev. Mitchell L. Ikenna Johnson, Olga Bautista.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

What is the funding shortfall? 

The gap this year is at least $128 million, but that doesn’t include an additional $175 million the city says it's owed to fund the pensions.

The school district started with a nearly $800 million hole before approving this year’s budget in July. Rising costs for health insurance and special education services, the end of federal COVID-19 relief dollars, salary increases and the pension payment led to the deficit.

The final budget, proposed by Martinez and approved by the board, closed $500 million of that deficit through cost cuts, refinancing debts and by keeping positions unfilled.

How risky is the short-term loan that Mayor Johnson wants?

The size and terms of the loan haven’t been negotiated.

But in an internal memo arguing against this particular loan, CPS officials called it expensive “crisis borrowing.” CPS bonds are already ranked "junk," which results in higher borrowing costs.

City officials insist the CPS memo has serious flaws.

CPS takes fixed-rate long-term loans mostly to pay for building and repairing schools and short-term loans to manage cash flow until the city gets its property tax revenue from the county.

The district has $9.3 billion billion in debt and will pay $817 million to cover principal and interest this year. Debt payments leave the district with about $3,000 less to spend on each student’s education.

What about state funding? 

Critics accuse CPS of seeking a “bailout” from the state. Meanwhile, Johnson has said the state owes CPS money.

The reality is that the school system has long been underfunded — a fact the state acknowledges.

A 2017 state law created a new funding system that calculates what school districts need to adequately serve their students. The formula takes into account the share of students who are unhoused, disabled, learning English or face other hardships.

This year, CPS only has 79% of what’s required to serve all its students, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. That gap is nearly $1.2 billion for CPS this year.

What role is the Chicago Teachers Union playing in all of this? What are the union’s contract demands?

The CTU and CPS are in contract negotiations now. The teachers’ contract expired at the end of June.

A typical CTU contract costs around $100 million to $120 million annually. Despite that knowledge, CPS officials didn’t factor a new CTU contract in this year’s budget.

That led to a lot of the tension between Martinez and the union, which propelled Johnson to office.

Is money from city tax increment financing districts a possible solution?

It could be, but it would be politically challenging for the mayor and a tough pill for some alderpersons to swallow.

TIF is a funding tool used by Chicago to subsidize development or infrastructure needs, including school construction. Under the system, geographic TIF districts are created around the city. When property values rise, the extra tax revenue can go toward development projects.

Every year, the mayor and the budget department decide how much of those funds to sweep into the city budget for operational use. That’s called declaring a TIF surplus.

Last year, Johnson declared a record $434 million surplus to wipe out some of the city’s budget shortfall. A little more than half that money went to CPS.

What effect will the chaos at CPS have on schools right now?

The school board sets policy, and the CEO is too high-level to have any immediate impact on schools. However, instability at the top has a ripple effect and can cause unease among principals and families.

The Chicago Teachers Union cannot strike until at least February due to a legal process it must follow first. Late last week, it took another step in the process toward a strike.

In addition to salary increases, the union is asking for guarantees of additional staff and more money for sports programs.

Sarah Karp covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on X @WBEZeducation and @sskedreporter.

Москва

На надгробной табличке Бедроса Киркорова поправили дату смерти

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Will AI ever cure cancer? The multibillion-dollar race to bring the first AI-discovered drug to market

Hyundai’s Insteroid is an EV one-off for gamers

T-Mobile closes Lumos deal after dropping DEI

Here’s more of what you’ll see through Meta’s $1,000 smart glasses

Ria.city
Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "3 апреля 2024 в г.Колумбус запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...






Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "3 апреля 2024 в г.Колумбус запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...


Реклама
  • ИП Попов А.П.
  • ИНН: 602715631406
Ревматолог: "3 апреля 2024 в г.Колумбус запущена квота"

Каждый человек с больными суставами имеет право получить...

Read also

This is how the big differences in Trump's tariffs were calculated

Rivals are rising to challenge the dominance of SpaceX

The price of privacy: How your personal data could dictate what you pay 

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

Here’s more of what you’ll see through Meta’s $1,000 smart glasses

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

Here’s more of what you’ll see through Meta’s $1,000 smart glasses



Sports today


Новости тенниса
WTA

Блинкова не смогла выйти во второй круг турнира WTA в Чарльстоне



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Бадминтонист из Бердска стал одним из лучших в стране



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Росгвардейцы обеспечили безопасность матча ВХЛ в Челябинске


Новости России

Game News

Гайд по установке модов в inZOI вручную и через менеджер


Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this

Russian.city

Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this


Минск

Тышкевич: «Гонцы из Минска в ближайшие недели-таки попытаются долететь до Вашингтона»


Губернаторы России
Россия

«Дикий Тюльпан» расцветет в Калмыкии: Кубок России по ралли-рейдам возвращается в степную столицу


Рейтинг пяти лучших маркетинговых агентств: VICTORY GROUP занял первое место

Железный человек, или Как спорт закаляет характер

Сотрудники Росгвардии задержали дебошира в центре Москвы

Лекция «Но красоту ее Боровиковский спас…». Парадный портрет от барокко до классицизма»


Deep Purple — Mandrake Root (French TV, 14th Nov, 1970)

Готовят почву? Linkin Park решили вернуться в Россию

При падении машины с парковки в Москве погибла преподаватель Гнесинки Бойцова

Утвержден актерский состав байопиков о The Beatles


Эрика Андреева в трёх сетах проиграла Чирико на старте турнира WTA в Чарльстоне

Фото: Рафаэль Надаль присутствует на матче мадридского «Реала» в полуфинале Кубка Испании

Петрова презентует книгу «Теннис. Методические рекомендации» 5 апреля в Москве

Бухарест (ATP). 2-й круг. Гаске сыграет с Коболли, Баутиста-Агут – с Комесаньей, Баес – с Уго Карабелли


Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine


Минск, Москва, Нижний Новгород, Казань, Ульяновск и Волгоград приняли литературный десант

MD Facility Management: в начале 2025 года до 80% затрат на обслуживание ТЦ приходилось на фонд оплаты труда

Рейтинг пяти лучших маркетинговых агентств: VICTORY GROUP занял первое место

Axenix и «КОРУС Консалтинг» объявили о стратегическом партнерстве для реализации проектов на платформе интегрированного планирования In.Plan


Билл Гейтс: благодаря искусственному интеллекту, к 2035 году мы сможем перейти на двухдневную рабочую неделю

Росгвардия набирает абитуриентов в военные образовательные учреждения

Лукашенко: для Минска и Москвы важно сохранить историческую память о ВОВ

Вучич заявил, что два мировых лидера якобы тайно поддерживают контакты с Путиным


К дому Ефремова начали водить экскурсии

СКА завершит сезон?! «Динамо» Москва — СКА: прогноз и ставка

Протесты в Турции набирают обороты и влияют на туризм

Звезды Большого театра России вступили на сцене Шостакович опера балет в спектакле «Дон Кихот Ламанчский»


Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this


Путин в России и мире
Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine



Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine



Реклама
Top 6 nutrition questions men should ask themselves after 40

To maintain health and remain full of energy, men will be helped by this



Реклама
The most beautiful beach towns with cheap living

A huge number of people around the world dream of one day breaking out of the daily routine

Персональные новости Russian.city
Игорь Бутман

«Повезло»: молодая жена 63-летнего Игоря Бутмана выложила фото в третью годовщину брака



News Every Day

T-Mobile closes Lumos deal after dropping DEI




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости