Editor’s Note: The video in the above player is from prior to the board’s vote.
The Chicago Board of Education approved an amended $10 billion budget plan that relies on $150 million in additional funding from the state on Thursday, despite warnings that it would be out of balance and could lead to drastic mid-year cuts and layoffs.
A marathon and contentious Chicago Board of Education meeting came down to the wire after hours of debate, testimony, meetings, and lobbying.
“I’m asking the board to pass my budget,” said CPS CEO Macquline King in her opening statements, warning that failure to pass by Thursday’s deadline could lead to a delay in the start of the upcoming school year and a failure to meet payroll in the immediate term.
“Delaying the budget would be a catastrophic for our district. It would be a de facto shutdown, right when students are returning to school,” she said.
King’s plan would have closed a $732 million gap partially by relying on Mayor Brandon Johnson approving $285 million in TIF funding. Last year, the mayor forked over $500 million. King said that figure would be necessary to avoid employee furlough days that were baked into an earlier version of the budget proposal.
Board members debated the amendment proposal for hours after Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch told CTU members that he would fight for the additional funding in November’s fall veto session.
“I strongly support in the veto session committing to a supplemental funding bill,” Welch said.
Welch is trying to shore up his own political base and facing calls to resign his speakership because some members question how he’s handled sexual harassment allegations against disgraced former state Rep. Harry Benton.
The school board’s vote could put the pressure on Governor JB Pritzker to work with lawmakers to find the additional funding.
“It means that there’s no excuse for our governor to keep telling us no when it’s obvious that there is a yes somewhere, and we invite him to join the speaker, we invite him to join the discussion that the Senate President said that we can have about this for veto session,” said CTU President Stacy Davis Gates, alluding to the fact that Illinois Senate President Don Harmon also expressed support for finding additional funding for public education.
But CPS officials said they could not rely on that funding to help this year’s budget. Acting CPS Chief Budget Officer Emilia Zoko told board members that, even if Springfield introduced additional funding, it wouldn’t come in time to affect this year’s budget.
Zoko also presented figures that show a 71% increases in the CPS budget over the last seven years while student enrollment has dropped 12.5%.
Earlier in the afternoon on Thursday, the board held a two-hour closed-door meeting where CPS officials warned that passing an unbalanced budget could be illegal under state law and open individual board members up to legal liability. But the CTU-aligned members who supported the amended budget were skeptical of those claims.
“I’m calling BS,” said board member Aaron “Jitu” Brown.
Hours after the vote, CPS released a statement that said in part, “Today’s amended budget threatens the District’s ability to secure the short-term financing (Tax Anticipation Notes) required to cover early September payroll. Our District must now present these modified terms to lenders, but market viability remains uncertain.”
“Simply put: we cannot guarantee that CPS will receive financing in time for the September 4 payroll,” the statement continued. “Failing to meet payroll is unacceptable. This places the District at significant risk of being in violation of the law and collective bargaining agreements. It may also damage our credit rating and severely restrict our future borrowing capacity for capital projects and operational needs. Most critically, any disruption in pay directly threatens the stability of our schools, impacting our students, families, and dedicated staff. CPS teachers and students belong in the classroom—not in limbo. We remain committed to full transparency and will provide updates as we navigate this financial challenge.”
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