Chicago Public Schools plans hundreds of layoffs, 5 furlough days to address $732 million deficit
Chicago Public Schools officials on Wednesday announced plans to lay off hundreds of teachers and other staff and impose five furlough days to help close a $732 million deficit for next school year.
The district's budget plan calls for laying off 760 teachers, 801 teachers' aides, and 162 central office employees. The district also plans to furlough staff for five days when students are not required to be in school – such as report card pickup days and teacher training or planning days – during the second semester.
CPS also plans a midyear spending freeze starting in the second semester.
CPS said its proposal does not add to the district's roughly $9 billion debt. Instead, district leaders said they're looking to reduce administrative spending, tighten operations, and rely on additional state money to help balance the books.
The budget also relies on a request for $200 million in funding from special taxing districts known as TIFs. That would require the City Council to declare a TIF surplus next year.
"We go through great pains to that make sure we get the numbers right and we get the data right, and ultimately the budget that we have presented is one that does its absolute best to address the very diverse needs of our students," CPS Chief Executive Officer Macquline King said.
The Chicago Teachers Union is pushing back on the spending plan, calling the proposal "dead on arrival."
The district said the budget plan avoids cuts that directly impact the classroom, something the CTU said is impossible.
"It's devastation – devastation for our kids, for our students, for our schools, and for our communities. If the Board of Education wants to do the right thing, they should consider this bill dead on arrival," CPS teacher Alex Rodriguez said.
The union has sent two demand letters to CPS, including one sent on Wednesday urging the district to bargain over any staffing cuts and pursue additional funding it says the district is owed before reducing positions that serve more than 300,000 students.
District leaders said staffing adjustments are routine this time of year, and claimed many staffers being laid off will be rehired for other positions before the school year begins.
CPS said it's also continuing to push for more long-term funding from Springfield, warning without additional revenue, balancing future budgets will only get tougher.
The proposal now moves into the public review process before the Chicago Board of Education votes on a final budget later this summer.
