CPS lays off 162 employees as it works to close $732 million budget deficit

Chicago Public Schools on Monday announced that it laid off 162 employees from its central office and citywide positions last week.

The district, in a statement, said that of the 162 employees, 82 came from the central office positions and the remaining 80 are from those citywide positions. All were notified of the layoffs on Friday, July 10.

In addition,18 employees who had been placed in the 2026 fiscal year layoff prevention pool will be informed that their stay in that pool has expired, the district said.

The layoffs come as CPS works to close a $732 million budget deficit for the upcoming academic year. The reductions are said to generate about $18 million in savings.

The district said it had exhausted opportunities to reduce non-personnel spending across every office, from renegotiating vendor and service contracts to consolidating and reducing non-essential administrative and office services, but that had only reduced a portion of the deficit.

The impacted positions of Friday's layoffs include the Talent Office, Information Technology Services, the Department of Principal Quality, the Office of School Counseling, Procurement, the Office of Student Health and Wellness, Real Estate, and the Office of Sports Administration.

Of the 162 impacted positions, 63 were unionized employees, including 38 represented by SEIU Local 73 and 25 represented by the Chicago Teachers Union. The district said that all Labor partners were notified in advance of the reductions. 

Last year, CPS laid off 161 central offices and citywide positions when the district faced a $734 million budget gap for the 2025-26 year. Those impacted in that round of layoffs included 67 central office and network office workers, seven Chicago Teachers Union positions, and 87 employees represented by SEIU Local 73, nearly all of whom were crossing guards.

The budget is expected to go before the school board later this month.