Chicago Board of Education approves balanced CPS budget, closing $730 million shortfall
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Board of Education approved a balanced budget for Chicago Public Schools Thursday.
Twelve of the Board members voted "yes," and seven voted "no." One person abstained from voting, after an hours-long debate, comment and pleas from CPS teachers, staff and parents.
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If the budget had not passed, the district could have temporarily shut down.
"It's incredibly exciting that we got to this passed budget, you know. School will be in session tomorrow. School will be in session after Labor Day; so, it's a really joyous occasion for us. And I think the most important thing is that elected members stood together," Board member Carlos Rivas Jr. said.
Chicago's mayor and his aligned School Board members and the Chicago Teacher's Union are also standing together Thursday against the now-approved budget, concerned over possible cuts to special education, mental health support and school crossing guards.
"I am very concerned that we are making a mistake in the sense that we are budgeting based off hope rather than based on budgeting on reality," Board member Debby Pope said.
At the end of debate, the common goal shared between both sides was advocating for what was best for CPS students and staff.
But it remains to be seen what the impacts of this vote will have long-term.
The Chicago Board of Education was running out of time to agree on a balanced budget, with the district facing a more than $730 million shortfall.
SEE ALSO: CTU, Mayor Johnson speak out against Pritzker, saying no state funding for CPS
Interim CPS CEO Dr. Macquline King said she is in favor of the CPS-proposed $10.2 billion budget, which closes the whopping deficit and does not call for any mid-year teacher cuts.
"It protects classrooms and it also ensures the progress students have made is secured, the investments that were made," Dr. King said. "It protects the budgets that principals were issued in the spring. It keeps those budgets whole."
According to the budget proposal, officials say they were able to close the deficit through a combination by repurposing funding in the district, like central office department reductions, and increasing the district's Tax Increment Financing revenue.
"No unit of government should be relying on TIF surplus to balance its budget," said Ald. Jason Ervin, City Council Budget Committee chair.
But, the city did it last year. Ald. Andre Vasquez said the mayor will likely need the TIF money again to balance this year's budget. If he does, state law requires CPS to get 52% of the surplus: all spelled out in a memo sent from Dr. King to school board members Thursday.
READ MORE | $734M Chicago Public Schools budget deficit looms as students return to class
"We are going to do it to solve our own budget. CPS is getting that money. Anyone saying different isn't telling the truth," 40th Ward Ald. Vasquez said.
At issue was a divide on how to best close the shortfall, between the board's elected members and those appointed by the mayor.
"What's frustrating to me is that this didn't just show up," 19th Ward Alderman Matt O'Shea said. "We've seen this coming."
READ MORE | Board of Education deeply divided over proposed CPS budget with days left to close $734M shortfall
Mayor-appointed members called for taking out a short-term loan: an action that more than a dozen city councilmembers - like O'Shea - are adamantly against.
"We can't afford to be borrowing this kind of exorbitant amount of money in a time like this," Alderman O'Shea said. "We need to do everything we can to support our children, support our teachers and live with what we can afford."
Mayor-appointed members have also called for an amendment to include a controversial pension payment.
The city is legally obligated to pay a $175 million payment because it includes city workers as well as low-level CPS employees.
"I am convinced that the people who vote for this amendment and move forward for the loan and make the pension payment are going to be viewed the same way as the people voted for the parking meter deal. It is that bad for the system," Vasquez said.
The union representing CPS support staff rallied in favor of the CPS budget proposal Thursday.
Dian Palmer, president of Service Employees International Union Local 73, which represents CPS support staff, says this will mean no more layoffs for her members.
"At the end, everybody came through the way I know they should have because of their love for Chicago and Chicago Public Schools and the students," Palmer said.
Elected Chicago Board of Education members Yesenia Lopez (District 7B) and Ebony DeBerry (District 2A) said in a statement Thursday, "While Superintendent Macquline King's budget wasn't perfect, it was the most responsible option available to protect classrooms from immediate cuts. At this moment, amending it to take on a high-interest loan would be a short-sighted move that risks draining critical resources from the very students and educators who need them most. Our responsibility is to protect classrooms, not line the pockets of lenders or those looking to exploit the challenges facing CPS. We remain committed to working with families, educators, and every level of government to secure sustainable, long-term funding solutions for our schools."
The Chicago Teachers Union said in a statement:
"Today's vote by the Board of Education to approve this imbalanced budget will cost Chicago's public school students. It will cost them essential special education minutes, regular and consistent hot meals, driver's education, mental health support, and the protection of Safe Passage and school crossing guards. These cuts will impact schools across this city - from Duke Ellington to Ft. Dearborn to Greeley to Belmont-Cragin Elementary - and they won't just be felt in our classrooms. They will be felt in our homes.
"Thankfully, a majority of City Council members yesterday pledged half a billion dollars in TIF surplus for our schools, making a promise to prevent thousands of layoffs and reverse cuts that are already leaving our schools less clean, our students less fed and attended to, and arrival and departure from school less safe. The members of the Board who voted in support of this budget made this same promise, and we look forward to them following through on that promise, restoring cuts and securing a strong school year.
"Ultimately, the choice made by the Board today will not be resolved by its members alone. It must be resolved by Governor Pritzker and the Illinois General Assembly, who owe our students nearly $2 billion in funding and who owe them protection from Donald Trump's efforts to invade our city and destroy public education here and beyond.
"We will be in Springfield in October to fight for the funding needed to Trump-proof our district and ensure every child in Chicago receives the quality education they deserve. Our children cannot wait for political stunts to end. They need fully funded schools now."
The Civic Federation said in a statement: "The Civic Federation commends the Chicago Board of Education for passing Interim CEO King's responsible budget for the 2025-26 school year. Although structurally imperfect, the budget effectively addresses extraordinary ongoing fiscal constraints while preserving the core mission by avoiding cuts to the classroom. It also avoids risky revenue assumptions and short-term borrowing that would both undermine the District's tenuous financial standing and increase future deficits. The Chicago Public Schools still face a major structural deficit next year and beyond. The Federation urges the Board to immediately support CPS Administration in a concerted effort to legally and financially disentangle the District from the City of Chicago, right-size its facilities and operations to correspond to revenue and population levels and trends, continue the work of identifying long-term efficiencies, and collaboratively engage the State in the recalibration of existing revenue disparities. Only by beginning to prepare now can the District avoid another budgetary crisis next year."
