Chicago Public Schools tries to balance cuts and students to close $733 million budget shortfall

Chicago Public Schools is facing a $733 million budget gap, and has delivered more than 600 individual proposals to its principals with ideas on how to handle the shortfall.

Early reporting shows the district looks to be preparing to cut some positions. Other proposals include a boost in special education funding and, according to Chalkbeat, an increase in student-teacher ratios, as well as eliminating assistant principal positions for schools with fewer than 250 students.

Chalkbeat Illinois reporter Mila Koumpilova joined CBS News Chicago to discuss the challenges the school district is facing and what they are prioritizing as they look to balance their budget.

CPS has said they have to make adjustment because of the higher costs for things like maintenance and labor, plus the end of COVID relief funding. They said their highest priorities remain direct classroom instruction and student support.

Chalkbeat reported Illinois has increased funding to CPS by about $1 billion in recent years, but according to the state's own calculations the district is still $1.6 billion short of "adequate" funding.

Now that the district has provided schools with preliminary budgets, principals and local school councils can now review the school-level allocations, get community input and submit appeals before the Board of Education votes on the final $10 billion CPS budget later this summer.

School budgets must be finalized by June 9. Then later in the summer, CPS will present the full budget for fiscal year 2027 to the board. The fiscal year begins on July 1, and the board must approve the budget by Aug. 29.