Gov. Bruce Rauner won’t say if Illinois can afford the almost $500 million in new state funding Chicago Public Schools has factored into its budget, but reiterated that he’s open to helping soften a schools financial crisis in conjunction with other reforms. CPS officials acknowledged that the proposal – which includes teacher layoffs and a property tax increase – was an “unsustainable” combination of borrowing and cuts but said there was no other choice with a $676 million teacher pension payment required by state law. There are over 1,400 teaching positions to be filled before school starts.
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“We can not cut our way to a balanced budget”, said CPS CEO Forrest Claypool.
Chicago teachers, who understandably view the proposed [pension] change as a 7 percent pay cut, are resisting.
Budgeting negotiations are always a minefield for urban districts, which often grapple with powerful teachers unions, powerful stakeholders and tight constraints on where they can find dollars.
The district says it will save $5 million as a result of the adjustment.
Meanwhile, the school district is facing a $1.1 billion budget deficit, but it’s unclear how much state lawmakers will be able to help this school year given the state’s on funding woes. Rauner vetoed most of the plan legislative Democrats sent him.
Two House appropriations committees are scheduled to hold a hearing Monday on legislation unanimously approved by the Illinois Senate last week. It’s earmarked for social service programs such as utility assistance for low-income residents, mental health treatment and job training.
Rauner’s efforts to attempt to scale back public union bargaining rights and remove legal guidelines requiring governments to rent development contractors who pay personal union wages have gone nowhere within the Democratic-dominated Common Meeting.
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“After listening to educators, students and families express their concerns about changing bell times, the Board of Education felt it was incredibly important to work with principals to determine the best options for their school communities”, board President Frank Clark said in a statement.
