Chicago Public Schools raises budget deficit estimate to $734 million

Forget previous estimates of $529 million – Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) current budget shortfall stands at $734 million, the district’s interim CEO has admitted.

“Transitions bring change,” said Macquline King at a June 26 school board meeting. “But they also bring opportunity.”

The revised number includes a disputed $175 million contribution toward a pension plan for nonteaching CPS employees and other city workers. King’s predecessor, former CEO Pedro Martinez, had called for the city to cover this cost.

However, the city hasn’t raised the amount of special property tax revenue to the district while state lawmakers have kept the education budget “largely flat,” according to Chalkbeat Chicago.

This “ridiculous, irresponsible, intergovernmental spat” has caused even left-leaning newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune to chide CPS and teachers unions for refusing to rein in wasteful spending.

“In the real world inhabited by real people, the answer in such circumstances is to reduce expenses: find the parts of the household or business budget that would be nice to have but aren’t absolutely necessary,” editorialists write. “And then excise them.”

‘Severely underenrolled’ schools 

Amid this backdrop of ballooning costs, at least 47 CPS schools are “operating at less than one-third capacity,” a recent analysis found. 

Because of the city’s moratorium on school closures, the same number of buildings are hosting fewer children as enrollment has dropped by more than 70,000 over 10 years, according to the report.

As a result, Chicagoans are spending up to $93,000 per student.

“CPS pumps extra dollars into these schools so they can offer the bare minimum,” said Hal Woods, policy director with the nonprofit Kids First Chicago. 

Children in these tiny schools also suffer from reduced choice in classes and extracurricular activities, according to journalists. 

“Chicago’s underenrolled high schools are more likely to have lower graduation and college enrollment rates. They tend to struggle with chronic truancy and higher dropout rates.” 

‘The largest donor in Chicago politics’ 

Meanwhile, a recent lawsuit against the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) underscores growing demands for financial transparency after the group refused to release any audits over five years.

“The Chicago Teachers Union and its affiliates have become the largest donor in Chicago politics, dishing out millions to its preferred lawmakers and candidates for mayor and school board,” Illinois Policy Institute Senior Director of Labor Policy Mailee Smith said. “Meanwhile, just 20 cents of every dollar CTU spends is on representing teachers – what should be its core focus. Chicago teachers deserve to know how their money is being spent and what causes the union supports.”

Stacy Davis Gates, CTU president, recently drew ire for her comments about “all children belong to” the union as opposed to within families.

“The children are always ours. Every single one of them, all over the globe,” she said at a June 23 speech at City Club of Chicago, quoting civil rights activist James Baldwin.

“And what comes next is ‘CTU thinks your children are its children.’ Yes, we do. We do. We do.”