CPS begins school year with financial crisis

CHICAGO (WLS) -- As students returned to school, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for state funding to help end the district's financial crisis.

Mayor Emanuel and CPS CEO Forrest Claypool say the only way to avoid layoffs and cuts is for the state to appropriate half a billion dollars to Chicago Public Schools.

"I don't think that Springfield can shirk their responsibility," Mayor Emanuel said.

"Ultimately, Springfield is going to have a big say whether we continue to have academic gains we've seen in the last four years," Claypool said.

With the state government facing its own deficit, budget stalemate, and multi-billion dollar bill backlog, the watchdog group Chicago Civic Federation called the CPS fiscal situation "frightening."

"We're not hearing from Springfield that they're going to move anytime quickly and we don't know what 'plan b' is if the Chicago Public Schools don't get that money," Laurence Msall, Chicago Civic Federation, said.

CPS has already made cuts in special education programs, elementary school sports and changed morning bell times to lessen student transportation costs.

Meanwhile, the district's more than 25,000 teachers are in mediation because their union contract expired on June 30th.

"The things that applied from our previous contract currently still do apply so we're working on that and moving forward," Erin Lynch, Mollision School teacher, said.

The Chicago Teachers Union vice president was asked about the possibility of a strike in early 2016.

"It puts teachers in a difficult situation, doesn't it? Where we don't have a contract and they're threatening huge and massive cuts halfway through the year. So, yeah, that's a possibility," CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey said.

Parents like Emily Seja hope officials figure it out soon.

"We're doing our parts in our houses and we're expecting them to their parts here also," Emily Seja, CPS parent, said.