Principals are receiving a 4% cost-of-living increase for this past school year under the new contract.
Chalkbeat spoke to budget watchdogs, municipal finance experts, district officials, school board members, the teachers union, community groups, and civic organizations about possible solutions for Chicago Public Schools’ budget crunch.
Due to a drop in local tax revenue and a bump in English learner enrollment, Chicago Public Schools will receive an additional $76 million from the state. Earlier this year, district officials anticipated a $25 million increase from the state.
CPS will cut seven private custodial contracts, resulting in the loss of 480 full-time custodian jobs. The move is estimated to save $40 million.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, as well as CPS and Chicago Teachers Union officials, hailed the initiative’s expansion even as they acknowledged the fiscal pressures that could endanger it.
Principals are receiving a 4% cost-of-living increase for this past school year under the new contract.
Chalkbeat spoke to budget watchdogs, municipal finance experts, district officials, school board members, the teachers union, community groups, and civic organizations about possible solutions for Chicago Public Schools’ budget crunch.
Due to a drop in local tax revenue and a bump in English learner enrollment, Chicago Public Schools will receive an additional $76 million from the state. Earlier this year, district officials anticipated a $25 million increase from the state.
CPS will cut seven private custodial contracts, resulting in the loss of 480 full-time custodian jobs. The move is estimated to save $40 million.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, as well as CPS and Chicago Teachers Union officials, hailed the initiative’s expansion even as they acknowledged the fiscal pressures that could endanger it.
State lawmakers said they’re ready to collaborate with the Chicago school board to find funding solutions, but did not commit to a special session or additional education funding.
The Office for Students with Disabilities is phasing out two departments and reassigning 65 new roles to work directly with schools, an internal email from Chicago Public Schools shows. The changes aim to put high-quality instruction before compliance, a top district official said.
Block Club rounded up drives, block parties and other events across the city where you and your family can find free school supplies, backpacks, food and more.
Results for thousands of kindergartners don’t show up in a state report because their schools got waivers to use alternate assessments.
In a note to families, a school district official detailed how the district’s belt-tightening could be felt day-to-day at schools.
The district is adjusting start and dismissal times in order to manage transportation routes amid what officials say is an ongoing bus driver shortage.
CPS officials estimate 1500 additional students would be eligible to advance a grade or work ahead a grade level under the new policy.
Board of Education President Sean Harden said borrowing money could be a short-term fix to avoid “draconian cuts” to schools.
A new Trump administration policy bars undocumented students from accessing Head Start, a 60-year-old program for low-income families.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon signed by 16 other governors calling the freeze of federal funds “a failure to fulfill the Department’s most basic responsibility.”
A new report looks at Illinois students who graduated high school between 2008 and 2012 and their education, career, and earning outcomes. Students who obtained a college degree made more money, but disparities in education and career outcomes persist.
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More than 1,450 staff at schools were laid off Friday. Budget documents posted online indicate the school-based workforce could shrink by more than 450 positions.
Illinois lawmakers proposed a bill that would have required parents to notify school districts if they were going to homeschool their children. But opponents called it “draconian” and vowed to keep fighting it.
CPS owes teachers retroactive raises for last school year and could be making more school-based cuts this month as it works to close a gaping deficit.
The proposed changes are aimed at providing more students the opportunity to move up a grade or take accelerated classes. Officials say internal data show most acceleration applicants come from the north side of the city, which is wealthier and whiter than other parts of Chicago.
People who took the community input survey said they want the next leader of Chicago schools to prioritize high-quality instruction, safety, and communication. The partly-elected school board is also requiring the next leader to hold a superintendent’s license.
Congress approved the support for English learners and afterschool programs. But the dollars expected on July 1 are now on hold, creating ‘unnecessary uncertainty,’ Sanders says.
The district is changing how it assigns staff serving students with disabilities as labor unions voice concerns.
Reductions target crossing guards and central-office employees. Trimming a $734 million deficit would require bigger moves.
The $734 million funding gap assumes the district will reimburse the city for a pension payment that covers school district and city workers.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers were hoping to pass a bill requiring school districts to create a policy limiting the use of the devices in class this spring. But it stalled in the House.
With a new interim CEO, the school district must close a $529 million deficit
Here’s what I learned developing a unit on the Underground Railroad - and why we changed course.
Outgoing CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said he underestimated how hard it would be to convince Mayor Brandon Johnson to release money collected in tax-increment-financing districts.
Rachael Mahmood traveled around Illinois to hear from educators, administrators, students, and parents. Race, background, and years in the classroom often impacted their answers.
Declining school enrollment has left 30% of Chicago public schools at least half-empty. The city’s failure to address this problem has come at a high cost to the district — and its students.
Pedro Martinez amended his lawsuit against the Chicago Board of Education for firing him without cause to seek damages from the teachers union and its president Stacy Davis Gates, alleging they waged a “demonization campaign” against him.
Mayor Brandon Johnson first appointed Thomas to the board last fall after the previous board resigned en masse.
In a close vote, the board voted to appoint King, despite concerns by some members over her record.
Chalkbeat spoke with four students who entered high school in 2021 and are graduating this spring. These young people don’t know a world without smartphones and social media and experienced a pandemic during puberty.
The program started in seven Chicago schools in 2019. Today, it’s expanded to about 400 schools.