School board approves an incomplete budget
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Illustration: Rebecca Zisser / Axios
Last week the school board approved CPS' controversial $9.9 billion budget, but the plan fails to account for $175 million in pension obligations and higher costs from teacher and principal union contracts.
Why it matters: The discrepancy will mean amending the budget later and finding extra money — possibly through state and federal funding or loans.
The intrigue: Mayor Brandon Johnson asked his handpicked board to include the pension and contract costs in the budget, and even suggested taking out a high-interest loan to do it.
- But the board defied him, arguing the move could damage the district's financial health.
What they're saying: "While this budget makes some important progress … it remains incomplete as it leaves teachers, principals, and pensioners behind by excluding those costs," a Johnson spokesperson told Axios.
Catch up quick: The new budget allocates individual school funding based on need level rather than enrollment totals and seeks to fill a $500 million deficit by cutting central office staff and leaving open hundreds of vacancies.
- The Chicago Teachers Union rallied against the plan for its elimination of hundreds of CTU positions.
- CTU vice president Jackson Potter suggested that leveraging the city's national spotlight with the Democratic National Convention might yield more state and federal funds.
The bottom line: The non-partisan Civic Federation applauded the board's refusal to take out a loan for the expenses but warned that kicking pension and contract costs down the road could lead "to an even larger deficit" next year, especially as the district is set to run out of COVID relief dollars.
What's next: A new CTU contract, expected to include more than $100 million in new spending — that's also not allocated in the district budget — is likely to be finalized in the coming weeks.