The chief administrative officer for CPS says if the talks eventually result in a higher pay increase for teachers, the budget will have to be re-adjusted. That could lead to cuts.
The budget totals more than $5 billion. It includes $144 million in cuts to operations and central office programs. It also uses the entire amount in the district's reserves.
"These funds are there to be used in times of fiscal constraint. That's exactly what we have here. We have a challenging time with a structural deficit, and we felt using those reserves to invest in students today made sense," said Tim Cawley, CPS chief administrative officer.
Cawley says next year CPS has a $534 million pension payment due and it will be challenging.
