“Among the 25 largest school districts by student enrollment, CPS has the third-most outstanding debt,” according to Cherry Salazar’s analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data for fiscal year 2023. Facing a debt of $10 billion, Chicago Public School (CPS) administration decided to take a section of the budget out for the 2025-2026 school year.
On August 28, CPS administration ultimately decided to remove the $200 million loan for pension payment towards non-teaching school staff. On top of that, the CPS administration approved a plan cutting an overall $272 million from the entire CPS budget, as stated by this year’s CPS budget overview.
So far, there have been layoffs of 432 teachers, including 132 special education teachers, 677 special education teaching assistants, 311 paraprofessionals, 480 custodial staff, and 33 security guards – essential contributors to Chicago school operations.
Feedback from school principals on the annual budget
Northside’s Principal Dr. Stuber said “we won’t know our full budget until the spring,” due to the budget uncertainty. As a result, measures are being put in place to ensure that Northside will continue to operate as usual. Guidelines for school activities, sports, and extracurriculars have been set to ensure enough funding is available for the rest of the school year.
As schools put together a plan of operation for this year, the budget plays a key role. Without an approved budget, schools across the district risk depleting their funds or facing delays in planning for the future.
Northside is fortunate to have a donation network through Friends of Northside, but many CPS schools do not have the same resources.
CPS layoffs of custodial and special education workers
In order to save $40 million of the $173 million deficit, CPS chose to layoff 1,200 privatized custodians without any prior warnings. This has created a reduction in custodial positions for the first six weeks of school.
Changes in Special Ed Positions
According to a WBEZ analysis, “4% of all children in special education…are not getting any required services and support.” CPS has also made changes when allocating special education workers, cutting around 250 special education teachers and 673 aides.
AP tests won’t be covered by CPS
Since 2020, CPS has financially covered AP tests for all students across the city, removing a possible financial burden for students. As a result of CPS budget cuts, students will not receive funding for AP tests.
Although College Board currently provides low-income students a reduced cost, there is still a fee that could be an obstacle for students wanting to take an AP class.
Kushala Anantharaman, a Junior at Northside College Prep and Vice President of Student Council, has expressed her worries that students may be unable to afford the costs of AP tests.
“I think this is going to affect a lot…of students, and I’m really concerned about that because everyone should have that [option] to take [an AP] test regardless of their income,” Kushala shared.
