* 7/10/24 - WTTW - CPS Hopes to Keep Funding Cuts Out of the Classroom as it Fills $500M Shortfall With New $9.9B Budget Proposal............
Buzz Sawyer
CPS Hopes to Keep Funding Cuts Out of the Classroom as it Fills $500M Shortfall With New $9.9B Budget Proposal
(WTTW News)
Chicago Public Schools says its new district budget will keep funding cuts out of the classroom by relying on grant money, departmental cuts and central office reductions to fill a shortfall that has ballooned to more than $500 million.
District officials on Wednesday announced a newly proposed $9.9 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year and maintain that although some schools will see reduced funding levels next year, the total amount CPS allocates for school budgets will not be cut.
“This budget very clearly puts teaching and learning front and center where it belongs,” CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said in a statement Wednesday. “For the first time ever we are setting foundational teacher and staffing positions that can be expected at every school in our District while also adding more resources to those schools serving students with the greatest needs.”
CPS already faced a $391 million shortfall as federal COVID-19 funding was set to expire, but the district said additional “cost pressures” in healthcare and special education resources added more than $100 million to the deficit — bringing the final total to $505 million.
In order to fill that gap, CPS said it conducted a “rigorous review” to find cost-saving opportunities.
Those included $197 million in departmental cuts to central academic and operational department budgets and another $196 million in federal grant carryover funds, new grant funding and increased vacancy savings. CPS said it was able to cut another $112 million in spending through debt restructuring as well as reductions in central office staffing, supplemental class size reduction funding and short-term borrowing costs.
CPS also said this budget proposal doesn’t include pending salary increases for teachers backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, which is in the process of negotiating a new contract. The district said it will need to update its budget once new collective bargaining agreements are reached with the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association.
According to the district, 95% of its operating budget funds will go toward directly supporting schools.
“Our dedicated staff and amazing students have proven what it takes to make progress and show amazing academic growth,” Chicago Board of Education President Jianan Shi said in a statement. “Now we must all work together as the leaders supporting the state’s largest school district and post similar progress when it comes to securing the public education funding that will sustain and improve academic excellence for today and tomorrow’s Chicago students.”
Individual school budgets will see an additional $149 million in funding this year compared to last. A majority of that increase comes as the result of mandated services for special education students ($62 million), statutorily-driven funding increases to charter schools ($42 million), and increased bilingual services ($7 million).
CPS also said it expects to see an increase in the size of its student population for a second consecutive year after more than a decade of declines. The district’s 20th day enrollment last school year rose slightly up to 323,291 students. That tally during the 2014-15 school year was at 396,683.
The district this year has done away with student-based budgeting and moved to a new funding model which it says will guarantee a certain level of resources to all schools.
CPS was expected to publish its FY25 budget in June, but it pushed that release back to July, it said, to allow for more time to “collaborate with CPS stakeholders and do further diligence since the budget model is new and being implemented for the first time.”
Individual school budgets were released back in May. Under the new formula, CPS said every school will receive a “core package of foundational positions and resources” — which will include teachers and staff, professional development, discretionary funding and out-of-school time activities — regardless of its size, location or school population.
Additional resources and positions will be allocated based on each school’s individual needs, while large and high-needs schools will receive additional counselor and restorative justice coordinator positions, according to CPS.
Other highlights include:
- 1,000 additional full-day pre-K seats — bringing the district’s total up to 15,000.
- $1.4 billion in funding for the district’s Office for Students with Disabilities, which will allow that department to hire an additional 900 positions at schools who will support the district’s increased number of students with Individualized Education Program minutes.
- An increase of $10 million in funding for the CPS Office of Multilingual and Multicultural Education in order to help provide each student access to a multilingual education. CPS said its English Learner population in the past year grew by about 10,000 students, for a total of 88,000 students, who make up more than a quarter of the district’s student population.
The Board of Education will vote to finalize the FY25 budget at its July 25 meeting.
CPS will hold a pair of budget hearings to gather public feedback at 4 p.m. on July 16 and at 6 p.m. on July 17. Those hearings will be held in-person at Jones College Prep, 700 S State St., and will be streamed online.
Contact Matt Masterson: @ByMattMasterson | mmast...@wttw.com | (773) 509-5431