New CPS school board needs fiscal discipline, creative problem-solving

We don't envy the difficult job facing Chicago's new Board of Education members, 20 of whom were sworn in on Wednesday.

But we're rooting for the board to succeed, especially in these tumultuous times. And the swearing-in at Chicago Public Schools headquarters provided plenty of hopeful notes, which we're taking as a positive sign that members are eager to tackle the task of steering CPS' financial and educational ship, and will be willing to make the hard and unpopular choices that will inevitably be needed.

That's abundantly clear from a new report from the Civic Federation, which points out the most pressing fiscal and operational problems in CPS — among them, thousands of new hires largely paid for with federal pandemic funding that has now run out, aging and underused school buildings, crippling debt costs — as well as potential solutions. Meanwhile, CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union are still negotiating a new labor agreement that could add to the yearly $500 million deficit that CPS is already in line for.

Over all this is the looming, if unlikely, worst-case threat of a potential state takeover. Or a bond rating downgrade — similar to Standard & Poor's downgrade this week of the city of Chicago's bond rating — that would increase long-term borrowing costs and worsen the financial picture.

Ultimately, all of it is now the responsibility of the new board, which has the power to make smart decisions that will keep the worst financial meltdown from happening. Years, even decades, of mismanagement under previous mayoral administrations contributed to the current problems. Now is the time to say "no more."

As part of righting the ship, we hope the board reaches out to experts, civic leaders, lawmakers and others who are willing to help play a part in creating a thriving public school system.

We also hope the new board will look closely at what to do with the dozens of schools that are underutilized. Hollowed-out schools don't benefit kids or communities. Can those schools, in buildings that are in better shape, share their facility with a neighboring school, a community group, perhaps even a charter school that pays rent? Options are worth exploring, to help avoid a potential closings scenario a few years down the road. No one wants a repeat of the mass closings of 2013.

Big decisions on a new teachers contract

Board members are not involved in teachers' contract negotiations, but the board has the final authority to approve or reject any new labor agreement — which must put the best interests of students first.

The board, we think, should say no to the 4% annual raises CPS has put on the table — the average raise Americans got in 2024 was 3% to 3.5% — and to all but essential new hires. If CPS and CTU can come to a compromise on these crucial points, so much the better. But Job No. 1 is to keep the district afloat. Heading down the road to insolvency doesn't help kids.

Another change that should not be part of any new agreement: a shortened school day for elementary students. The CTU wants more planning time for elementary school teachers and says cutting 20 minutes from the school day for that won't affect teaching, as WBEZ's Sarah Karp and the Sun-Times' Nader Issa report. But CPS so far has refused to budge on this point, saying cutting 20 minutes will affect teaching time — and we agree. CPS lengthened its school day in 2012 under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and whatever some Chicagoans think of his tenure at City Hall, Emanuel was right about a longer school day.

Other ideas that should be nonstarters: Provisions that would restrict principals' oversight of school curriculum and teacher evaluation.

Teachers, of course, deserve the opportunity to object to curriculum they think is problematic. They also should have the right to support and training if they receive an evaluation that is unsatisfactory. Smart principals will listen to good teachers, and take their views into account. But someone has to have the final say — and we're with the Chicago Principals & Administrators Association on this. "CPS must not compromise the core aspects of the principal role in the bargaining process," as the group's chief of staff wrote in a Sun-Times op-ed. "Principals are accountable for outcomes in their schools, and with that accountability must come the authority to lead effectively."

Every Chicagoan, whether they have students in CPS or not, should root for the new board to succeed. Their success is ours — and the success of the city we all love deserves no less.

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