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 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.

On Tuesday morning, members of the Chicago Teachers Union blamed some of the cuts on a chronic problem with property taxes.

Cook County property tax bills did not go out on time this summer, starting a chain reaction. A delay in collecting money causes a delay in doling out revenue, which causes a gap in funding.

CPS has been forced to fill that cash hole with a loan. Once the loan was taken out, interest payments then added even more costs to the district's balance sheets.

The Chicago Teachers Union said, "The unprecedented delays by the County over this last year have created a needless additional burden that robs students of libraries, sports programs and special education services."

CPS administrators who have been working on the budget said they tried their best to reduce the impact on classroom instruction and student services. They cut costs by deferring discretionary spending, renegotiating some vendor contracts, and consolidating and reducing non-essential administrative and office services.

But CPS said all of that had only reduced a portion of the deficit.

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. The pink slips went out for those employees 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 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. 

Meanwhile, the Chicago Teachers Union is calling on the State of Illinois and Cook County for a solution on the delayed property tax issue.

The union is calling for a special legislative session in Springfield to address school spending. Union organizers also showed up to a Cook County Board Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Union organizers want the Cook County Board to allow CPS to access an interest-free loan.

"It is time for our leaders to stop making excuses — stop making excuses — and start protecting our classrooms," Chicago Public Schools teacher Amaziah Burton said Monday.

The CTU plans to return to the Cook County Building in full force on Wednesday as they try to pressure the Cook County Board Finance Committee to act — including demanding changes to that interest-free loan program that is currently unavailable to CPS.

Union organizers also claim the Cook County Treasurer's office is sitting on a pot of $400 million that could be given to schools right away to ease budget concerns.

"When schools are already underfunded, delays in releasing local tax dollars become even more devastating," said CPS teacher Melina Lesus. "Today's message is simple — release the money."

Treasurer's office spokesman Mike Puccinelli issued a statement addressing the CTU's claims about the pot of money the union claimed the office was sitting on, noting that there is a specific reason why it is being held:

"Money is being held primarily to cover a collection adjustment that could be up to 2 percent of the total property tax collection. The magnitude of the collection adjustment remains undetermined due to ongoing distribution and reporting defects in the Tyler Technologies' system.

"$400 million is about 2 percent of the more than $19 billion that Cook County billed to property owners last year."

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.