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CPS Board Member, Policy Analyst Weigh in on District’s $732M Budget Deficit – WTTW (Chicago)
“The district really went on a hiring spree during COVID, against the advice of most financial experts,” said Austin Berg, of the Chicago Policy Center,. “They were adding a lot of recurring costs on one-time revenues that they knew would go away after the pandemic was over.” Berg also said CTU asked too much of the district in the two bodies’ most recent contract.
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Summary and audio linked here.
Audio and summary
““The district really went on a hiring spree during COVID, against the advice of most financial experts,” Berg said.” – by most, he surely means “all, except Ralph Martire”. Martire, who while an Oak Park River Forest HS board member advocated against a referendum for a massive, extraordinarily expensive pool driven rehab of the school, then voted to approve it using inappropriate funding mechanisms. The boards finance committee advised a referendum was appropriate and the funding mechanisms were all wrong. They were ignored. This all led to the current stress on the schools operating budget, and higher than necessary levy… Read more »
CPS is overstaffed with people in significantly under utilized schools. Secondly, thw whole $1 Billion underfunded from the state narrative is a red herring. It is not as though the state is withholding the money or giving to other school districts. It is based on a formula derived 10 years ago that increases the amount of state funding over time to get to the EBF amount.
COS needs to close underutilized schools and lay off the associated staff. But CTU won’t allow this. CPS needs to behave fiscally responsible and stand up to CTU.
“adding a lot of recurring costs on one-time revenues”
Just following the governors and democrats model of fiscal responsibility!
CPS expenses (2025) – $9.52 billion
CPS revenue (2025) – $8.99 billion
CPS expenses (2015) – $6.51 billion
CPS revenue (2015) – $5.49 billion